You may have discovered that if you try just typing a number into the header, suddenly all your pages are labeled the same instead of the sequential 1, 2, 3, etc. There's a very simple way around this!
- Open up your header (by double-clicking the top inch of page, or going to Insert > Header).
- This will open up the header Design bar, and third from the left, you'll find a Page Number button.
- Choose "top of page" option 3, so that the number is added to the right corner. You do not want any of the colorful options -- just the number.
- If you haven't changed your default font, you need to manually make this text match the rest of your document, which is likely Times New Roman size 12.
- Double-click the body of your document to close out the editor if you're done editing it.
Variations:
MLA - Add Your Last Name
MLA headers should display your last name before the page number. Add the page number first, then just hit the left arrow key to move the cursor before the number. Type in your last name.
Chicago Style - Invisible 0 on the Title Page
One of the (many) things that makes Chicago Style different from MLA or APA is that it doesn't want you to start your page numbering until you're actually providing content. This means you'll have a title page without a page number, but within the same document, you want what's actually the second page to be numbered as page 1.
1. Add your page number, as described above.
2. If you don't already have a second page in your document, go ahead and add one so that you can see what changes are happening. Just hit enter until you get to page 2, if needed.
3. In the Header & Footer Design tools, look for the Options cluster and check the box for "Different First Page." Your page number will disappear from page 1, but page 2 (if you've already added it) will still display a 2 in the corner.
4. Open up the Page Numbers options, and select "Format Page Numbers..."
5. In the Page Number Format box that opens, tell it to start numbering at 0 instead of 1. Click OK.
And you're done! You have successfully tricked Word into placing an invisible 0 on your title page so that your second page of the document will count as page 1 of your actual paper.