How to Adjust Paragraph Spacing in Microsoft Word

This tutorial shows how to adjust paragraph spacing in Microsoft Word. First, we will change the spacing before and after individual paragraphs. Then, we will adjust the space before and after all the paragraphs in a document.

Don’t miss the brief discussion at the end about Word’s built-in paragraph spacing options—and why you may not want to use them.

These steps don’t affect the line spacing within the paragraphs. For information about line spacing, please see “How to Adjust Line Spacing in Microsoft Word.”

Table of Contents

How to Adjust the Space Before and After Individual Paragraphs
How to Adjust the Space Before and After All Paragraphs
What about the Built-In Paragraph Spacing Options?

This tutorial’s companion video shows all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.

Are you on a Mac? Please see “How to Adjust Paragraph Spacing in Word for Mac.”

How to Adjust the Space Before and After Individual Paragraphs

Select the Home tab.

Home tab in Word 365 — Figure 1. Home tab

(Optional) Select the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group to reveal your formatting marks, including paragraph marks.

Show/Hide button in Word 365 — Figure 2. Show/Hide button

Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want to adjust.

Selected paragraphs in Word 365 — Figure 3. Selected paragraphs

Select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button in the Paragraph group.

Line and Paragraph Spacing button in Word 365 — Figure 4. Line and Paragraph Spacing button

(Basic Method) Select Add Space Before Paragraph or Remove Space After Paragraph from the drop-down menu.Alternatively, you will have the option to select Remove Space Before Paragraph or Add Space After Paragraph if the paragraph spacing has already been adjusted.

Important Note: The size of the adjustment is based on the paragraph’s current font size.

"Add Space Before Paragraph" and "Remove Space After Paragraph" in Word 365 — Figure 5. Add Space Before Paragraph and Remove Space After Paragraph options

(Advanced Method) Select Line Spacing Options from the drop-down menu.

Line Spacing Options in the Line and Paragraph Spacing menu in Word 365 — Figure 6. Line Spacing Options

Enter an amount into the Before or After text box in the Paragraph dialog box.

Pro Tip: Avoid entering numbers in the Before and After text boxes at the same time because multiple adjustments may cause unwanted results.

Before and After text boxes in the Paragraph dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 7. Before and After text boxes

Ensure that Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style is not selected.

"Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style" option in Word 365 — Figure 8. Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style option

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Paragraph dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 9. OK button

The spacing should be adjusted for the selected paragraph(s).

Paragraphs with adjusted spacing in Word 365 — Figure 10. Paragraphs with adjusted spacing

How to Adjust the Space Before and After All Paragraphs

This process adjusts the paragraph spacing for the entire document without affecting the spacing for headings.

Select the Design tab.

Design tab in Word 365 — Figure 11. Design tab

Select the Paragraph Spacing button in the Document Formatting group.

Paragraph Spacing button in the Design tab in Word 365 — Figure 12. Paragraph Spacing button

Select Custom Paragraph Spacing from the drop-down menu.

Custom Paragraph Spacing in the Paragraph Spacing menu in Word 365 — Figure 13. Custom Paragraph Spacing option

Enter an amount into the Before or After text box in the Manage Styles dialog box.

Pro Tip: Avoid entering numbers in the Before and After text boxes at the same time because multiple adjustments may cause unwanted results.

Before and After text boxes in the Manage Styles dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 14. Before and After text boxes

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Manage Styles dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 15. OK button

The paragraph spacing should be adjusted for the entire document. The heading spacing should not be affected.

Paragraphs with spacing adjusts in Word 365 — Figure 16. Paragraphs with spacing adjustments

What about the Built-In Paragraph Spacing Options?

The Paragraph Spacing menu in the Design tab includes six built-in options. You can use these options instead of custom paragraph spacing. However, these options will also adjust the line spacing within your paragraphs.