Create an Accessible Word Document with Styles

What you will make

A short team update with navigable headings, genuine list formatting and readable paragraphs. Allow about 25 minutes. This exercise builds accessible-document habits; it does not certify that every document you create meets all accessibility requirements.

Before you start

Use Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows and download the editable example below. Save a copy before changing it. The PDF is a visual reference, while the Word file is the editable practice document. Ribbon positions may differ on Mac or Word for the web.

1. Examine the example

Open word-styles-practice.docx. Select View > Navigation Pane and open its Headings view. The main headings are Purpose, Progress, Questions for the team and Try it yourself. Completed work and Next steps sit beneath Progress. Select a heading in the pane to move to that part of the document.

2. Build the structure in a new document

Create a blank document and type Team update. Apply the built-in Title style. Add Purpose and apply Heading 1, then write one normal paragraph beneath it. Add Progress with Heading 1 and Completed work with Heading 2. Add Next steps with Heading 2. Continue with Questions for the team as Heading 1. Apply styles from Home > Styles rather than making ordinary paragraphs look like headings with bold and larger type.

3. Add a genuine list

Under Next steps, create three separate paragraphs: review the record with two colleagues; clarify who updates each action; agree when the next review will take place. Select those paragraphs and use Home > Bullets. The list should behave as a list when you add another item. Avoid typing decorative bullet characters manually.

4. Make the content easy to read

Use short paragraphs and descriptive headings. Choose a readable font and dark text on a light background. Adjust paragraph spacing through the style or paragraph controls rather than inserting repeated blank lines. If you include a hyperlink, use text that names its destination. Keep essential information in the document body. If you add a meaningful image, provide an alt description of the information it conveys; mark purely decorative images as decorative.

5. Test navigation and order

Open the Navigation Pane in your new document. Check that each main section appears at the same level and that the two Progress subheadings are nested beneath it. Select each heading and confirm it opens the expected section. Add Review notes as a new Heading 1 and Feedback beneath it as Heading 2. Use a normal paragraph for the feedback itself. Do not skip directly from Heading 1 to Heading 3.

6. Run the Accessibility Checker

Select Review > Check Accessibility. Inspect each reported issue and the suggested action. Make the relevant correction, then check again. Also read the document from start to finish and review the hierarchy yourself. The checker assists your review; it cannot judge every aspect of clarity or accessibility. This exercise deliberately has no tables, so table headers and cell reading order require further practice if you add one.

If something looks wrong

• A heading is absent from navigation: place the cursor in that paragraph and confirm its actual heading style.
• The outline is confusing: use Heading 1 for main sections and Heading 2 for their subsections.
• Spacing changes unpredictably: inspect paragraph spacing and remove unnecessary empty paragraphs.
• Text looks different after pasting: reapply the appropriate built-in style and inspect the resulting hierarchy.

Check your learning

Save the Word file and reopen it. Confirm that heading navigation remains available, lists remain genuine lists and the new Review notes section appears in the right place. Record what the checker reported and any manual checks you performed. Do not describe an untested export as fully accessible.

Official guidance

Microsoft: accessible Word documents, headings and checks

Cover image: AI-generated illustrative scene created specifically for this resource.

Download and complete the exercise

Download the styled Word practice example (DOCX)

Download the visual reference for the Word exercise (PDF)

Practice files in the formats shown. Version 1.0, 8 October 2026. Personal and internal organisational adaptation permitted with Jefferson Otonbara Imgbi author credit retained.