Word for Everyday Letters — Fonts, Margins & Printing Without a Fight
Last verified: October 2026
Word has a thousand buttons; a letter needs about six. How to type, format, and print a one-page letter — and fix blank second pages and cut-off edges. Rather have a hand? My number is (330) 200-8042.
Writing a Letter in Word, at a Glance
Word can feel overwhelming, but a clean one-page letter uses only a handful of its buttons. The trick is to type the words first and format afterward: pick a clear font at size 12 or 14, leave the margins on Normal, and always check Print Preview before you print. Most letter headaches — a blank second page (extra empty lines at the end) and cut-off edges (margins set too small) — have simple fixes. This gentle guide walks you through all of it, and there's a printable 29-page version up top.
Common Questions
1 How do I get rid of a blank second page?
Click at the very end of your letter and press Delete or Backspace to remove the empty lines below your name. Turn on the paragraph-mark button (the backwards P) to see the hidden Enters you're removing.
2 Why are the edges of my letter cut off when I print?
Your margins are too small for the printer to reach. Set them back to Normal (one inch) under the Layout tab, and look for a 'fit to page' option in the print window.
3 What font and size should I use?
A plain font like Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman, at size 12 for standard or 14 for easier reading. Avoid fancy, decorative fonts — they're harder to read and look less serious.
4 Should I press Enter at the end of every line?
No. Let Word wrap the text for you and only press Enter to start a new paragraph. Pressing it on every line creates hidden trouble that scrambles the layout later.
5 How do I make the words bigger for my eyes?
Raise the font size to 14 for the printed letter, or zoom the view with the slider at the bottom-right to see it bigger on screen without changing how it prints.
6 Do I have to buy Word to write letters?
No. The free web version of Word, Google Docs and others write letters too — see our free-ways-to-write guide. The steps here work much the same in those.
Would You Rather I Just Help?
Teaching a good letter start to finish is one of my favorite visits — no rushing, no jargon, just you writing a real letter with a patient hand nearby. I'll also tame a cranky printer while I'm there. $99 flat for a visit, or $49 on-screen, 30-day come-back-free.
Would you rather I just do this for you?
No shame in it — plenty of folks would rather hand it off, and that's what I'm here for. I'll come to your home, set it up right, and make sure it's working before I leave. Flat $99 per visit — no jargon, no upsell, and every visit is 30-day come-back-free.
Not a hardware job? I can often fix it remotely for $49 — a secure screen-share, up to 2 hours, that you watch the whole time and can end whenever (included free for $39/mo Support Plan members, and it counts toward the $99 if it turns out I need to come out).