COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
LECTURE NOTES ON COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Table of Contents
Compare and Contrast Summary ............................................................................................... 1
Decision, deciding to use the C/C Pattern ................................................................................... 3
Organization of C/C Writing ....................................................................................................... 3
Title/subject line .......................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4
Choosing criteria for comparison ............................................................................................ 4
Comparison/Contrast Body ......................................................................................................... 5
Writing the Body as a Comparison Summary Table ............................................................... 5
Writing the Body as Paragraphs of Text ................................................................................. 9
Writing the Body as a Combination of Both ......................................................................... 10
Making Objective vs. Subjective Comparisons ..................................................................... 11
Knowing What Not to do in the body Sections ..................................................................... 11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 12
Recommendation ....................................................................................................................... 12
Pre-writing Stage: Getting Started............................................................................................ 13
To extend the C/C pattern .......................................................................................................... 13
When the Comparison as Paragraphs of Text is More Than a Paragraph................................. 13
To Use Comparison as Paragraphs of Text Requires Criteria Definitions ............................... 14
Uses of C/C Pattern ..................................................................................................................... 15
Formatting a Table in Word ...................................................................................................... 15
COMPARE AND CONTRAST SUMMARY
A summary of the C/C pattern is in Table 1.
NOTE: This reading assumes that you've read "Defining a few terms" before you come to this
document. Terms are used that are defined in that writing.
Writing Compare and Contrast
Purpose
The writer helps the reader make a decision. The
decision: The reader chooses the subject of the decision.
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Characteristics
1
Table 1: C/C Summary of Characteristics
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Characteristics
Writing Compare and Contrast
Audience/Reader (primary
audience of document, the
person to whom the work was
created)
Decision maker, whoever needs to live with the decision that
gets made
Secondary Audience (someone
who may also read a document,
but isn't the primary audience)
Anyone who may help the reader make the decisions or cares
what decision is made
Point of View (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
2nd POV (Use "you" to refer to the reader).
Tone (the impression the reader
is left with after reading the
piece)
Formal (NOTE: even though 2nd POV is used, the tone can
still be formal by using the other factors of tone to
compensate.)
Pace (the speed that information
is presented to the reader)
Medium
Organization Method
Organized as Introduction, body, Conclusion
The body is organized as a comparison summary table
OR by paragraphs of text organized either as Whole-bywhole (W/W) or Part-by-part (P/P)
Cognitive Skill
Critical analysis, author needs to be able to analyze the
subjects.
(Writing is a thinking skill too)
Objective writing (writing without personal bias)
Ethical scenarios
Exaggerate evaluation; fail to be objective in evaluation
(In any writing, situations arise
that can cause the author to
examine ethical situations
where they may not be truthful
in their writing)
Even evaluation of criteria: each subject needs to be
evaluated using the same criteria
Examples
decision paper, position paper, Marketing/Sales writing,
debates
(Where might a C/C writing
appear in the business world?)
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Writing Skill
2
Even evaluation of criteria: For every subject, the author
needs to use the same criteria (and sub-criteria) to evaluate
each subject
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Characteristics
Writing Compare and Contrast
Delivery
report, presentation, email, webpage, as part of any other
type of document (especially the comparison summary table)
(How might C/C writing be
delivered to the reader)
Source: Anderson, Laurie. "C/C Lecture Notes." CSS 301 Technical Writing for Computing
Professionals. University of Washington Bothell. Fall 2017.
DECISION, DECIDING TO USE THE C/C PATTERN
As an author that needs to provide information to people as part of your job, you need to decide
how to organize that information.
You would be cued to use the Compare and Contrast pattern by someone using any of the
following words:
 "decide"
 "between"
 "which"
 "choose"
 "pick"
ORGANIZATION OF C/C WRITING
A C/C writing is organized as Introduction, body, Conclusion. This type of writing is lengthy and
requires headings so that the reader can navigate the writing easily.
Title/subject line
In any C/C writing, the author needs to let the reader know that the upcoming document will help
them with the decision they need to make. Use specific words in the title to let the reader know a
C/C writing is coming along. Examples include the following:
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"choosing which …"
"need to pick …"
"deciding <identify the decision that needs to be made without mentioning the subjects>"
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COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Introduction
SHORT FORM (use for Assignment #1); this short form assumes that your document is a
SECTION in a longer document.
For the short form/Assignment #1, see the sample paper.
LONG FORM (free-standing document in a delivery mechanism such as a memo)
In the long form, the introduction section must
1. Acknowledge your audience.
For example, "As a student at UWB, you…"
2. Acknowledge the decision that needs to be made, without including the subjects.
For example, you might need to choose a section of a course to take; that is the decision.
It is not, choosing between section A and section B; those are the subjects.
3. Introduce the list that is your subjects (the options to choose from)
4. Forecast the criteria (i.e., list them) (not any sub-criteria)
The introduction section must not do the following:
 Do not make the decision for the reader
o E.g., "The best choice would be…"

Do not explain the decision in terms of the subjects
o E.g., "You need to pick x or y"

Do not tell the reader what to do
o E.g., "You should…", "You need to…", "You must…"

Do not begin the comparisons
o E.g., Start to include comparison information
Choosing criteria for comparison
STYLE TIP: Criteria is the plural term (for multiple points of comparison); criterion is the
singular term, used for one point of comparison.
If color is irrelevant, then do not use it as a criterion.

If price is important to the decision, but the prices are all the same for all the subjects,
you must still include the price as a criterion.
The criteria should be presented or discussed in an order that helps the reader build knowledge or
understanding about the comparison. For example, you could order the criteria in the order in
which the reader is most likely to consider the criteria. In general, the order should be a) most-
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The criteria that the author uses for the comparison can be unique, similar, or different between
the subjects being compared. In all cases, the criteria chosen must be relevant to the reader and
the decision she needs to make. For example:
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
to-least important to the reader/decision and, within this order of importance, b) presented in
logical groupings.
Comparison/Contrast Body
The body sections contain the comparison/contrast.1
The body can be constructed in the following ways:
1. as a comparison summary table (CST)
2. as paragraphs of text organized as either whole-by-whole (W/W) or part-by-part (P/P)
3. as a combination of both
The following sections discuss each of these options.
Writing the Body as a Comparison Summary Table
The heading for this section would be "Comparison" or some other phrase that cues the reader
that this section contains the comparison information. Never have a section called "body" in any
technical writing.
In the case of the body as a comparison summary table, you organize the table with the first
column as the list of criteria (one row per criterion), followed by a column per subject. See
Table 2.
Table 2: Comparison Summary Table Sample
Criteria
Subject A
Subject B
Subject C
Criterion 1
Info re: A and 1
Info re: B and 1
Info re: C and 1
Criterion 2
Info re: A and 2
Info re: B and 2
Info re: C and 2
Source: Provide the full source for the information in the table cells here
The following sections offer more details on creating this table and formatting it properly.
Creating a Table Properly
When designing and formatting any table, these are the rules to follow:
1) Start with a purpose/goal and use the purpose for the Table title.
2) Design rows/columns to grow DOWN (by adding rows). Based on what's likely to be
added, never grow table by adding more columns, because the table outgrows a portrait
orientation.
3) Since we read left-to-right, order columns accordingly.
4) On a line before the grid table, always label the table with "Table" followed by a number
that increases for each subsequent table in the document, a colon, and then a title for the
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Note: body has a lower case letter because it is referring to the sections of the document that constitute the middle
of the document. In technical writing, the body sections headings should always be words that describe its content.
There should NEVER be a heading called "body" in technical writing. By contrast, "Introduction" and "Conclusion"
ought to be used for headings because they are understood by a common audience.
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COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
table. For example, "Table 1: C/C Summary of Characteristics". You have two
alternatives for numbering the table.
o Number table sequentially as Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, etc.
o Number the tables using scientific notation if you have section numbers as
Table 1.1, Table 1.2. Then for the next section start over as Table 2.1., Table 2.2,
etc.
NOTE: This table title should not be placed inside the table because it is used to identify
the table to the reader. If it's placed inside the table, then visually, the table seems to
spring up on the reader.
5) Have row and column headings (for all rows/columns). This means that the very first
column needs to have a heading. Never leave the first column table cell blank.
6) Make column/row headings look different than the table cells, for readability.
7) Use grid lines in your table, so readers can see what lives in each table cell. Your reader
should never guess what table cell information goes with what column/row headings.
8) Align the left edge grid of the table with the T in "Table." In Word, when you create a
table, the first column juts out to the left and needs to be brought into alignment with the
text.
9) Always Left-align the first column.
10) Always align all cells of a column the same. The eye jerks around if table cells in a
column are not all aligned the same.
11) Use abbreviations and fragments to reduce table cell content, no ending punctuation.
12) Use enough white space to read content easily in grid cell.
13) If the table cell contents do not text wrap, consider centering the columns.
14) Omit information that is not relevant to your purpose. Avoid chart junk.
15) Put the source(s) in the last (merged) cell of the table so that the reader can find the
original information. Why full source? Because good tables get borrowed. If borrowed,
then once it's in another document, the full source can still help the reader find the
original source.
These rules apply for ALL tables that you create, not only comparison summary tables.
Column heading
Table cell content
Table cell content
Column heading
Table cell content
Table cell content
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Table 3: Properly Formatted Table
Column heading
Column heading
Table cell content
Row heading
Table cell content
Row heading
6
Table 3 shows a sample table formatted properly.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Table cell content
Table cell content
Row heading
Source: Full bibliographic source where the information came from
Table cell content
Integrating a Table into a Document
The following rules apply for both tables and figures when incorporating them into a document.
1) Always refer to the figure/table within the body of the text, before it appears in the text.
2) Refer to each figure and table in the document before it appears. For example.
NOTE: That Table and Figure are capitalized when referenced.
o Table 1 shows where ….
o As shown in Table 1, the ….
o … is reported in Table 1.
o (See Table 1.)
o … (Table 1) …
3) Do not use location words as the text reference, such as "the figure below" since they may
move. Refer to the figure/table by number.
4) Figures and tables should always be numbered within a document. Figures and tables should
be numbered separately (starting both at 1).
5) Place the figure or table after the paragraph that references them. Not before, where the
reader will stumble across them.
6) Include enough white space on the page before and after the figure/table so it's not crowded.
Selecting Criteria
You want the criteria you use to be a concept or idea, then the table cell would be how that
concept relates.
In other words, when deciding on your criteria, you want to avoid using criteria that would
generate "yes" or "no" for the table cell. When that happens, it puts all the pressure on the criteria
to make the sense for all readers. For example, if you were comparing laptops, see the two rows
in Table 4 that show how the question criteria is not an informative row, while the second criteria
row is more helpful.
Table 4: Example Criteria Comparison
Criteria
Some laptop
Stylus included?
Yes
Stylus
6" resin stylus included with
list price
Another laptop
No
No stylus included. Optional stylus
available for additional cost
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See Table 1 for another example of how to create criteria and table cell content.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Establishing a Table with Criteria and Sub-criteria
When creating a comparison summary table that has criteria that breaks down into sub-criteria,
then special formatting requirements are needed to help the reader understand what information
is related. See Table 5 for an example.
Table 5: Practice Table
Column heading
Column heading
Column heading
Table cell content
Table cell content
Criterion
Criterion
Sub-criterion Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Criterion
Criterion
Sub-criterion Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Criterion
Table cell content
Table cell content
Criterion
Source: Full bibliographic source where the information came from
Column heading
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
In any table, the 1st table column (after the heading row) needs to be parallel. Parallelism is using
successive verbal constructions that correspond in grammatical structure. That is, if the criteria is
a noun, then they all are nouns. If they start with a command verb, then they all start with a
command verb. For more information, see grammar homework #3 for a discussion of
parallelism. Therefore, the criteria needs to be parallel.
NOTE: When you have sub-criteria, only the criteria are forecasted in the introduction, not the
sub-criteria. If you tried to forecast both, the sentence would get very convoluted for the reader.
NOTE: If you need to define a criteria term, then the brief definition would go in the table cell
where the criteria is identified. See Table 1 for an example of the use of definitions.
Recommendation: Merge the cells for the criteria that breaks down into sub-criteria and format
the look of the sub-criteria differently (as seen in Table 5). You could indent them, or assuming
there's no text wrap in the sub-criteria phrase, you might center or right align if that look works.
Identifying Sources in Tables
When creating a table, you need to identify the source inside the table because good tables get
borrowed. Once a table is in another document, the full source can still help the reader find the
original source.
If you place the notation in the column heading, then all the information in that column
came from that source.
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Recommendation: Use a documentary note system of citing where information came from in the
table. Place the notation in the following places to signal the reader as follows (see Table 6):
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN


If you place the notation in the row heading, then all the information in that row came
from that source.
If you place the notation in a table cell, then only that piece of information came from
that source.
Table 6: Table Citing Sources
Column heading
Column heading [1] Column heading [2]
Table cell content
Table cell content
Criterion
Criterion [4]
Sub-criterion
Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion
Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Criterion
Criterion
Sub-criterion [5]
Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion
Table cell content
Table cell content
Sub-criterion
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Criterion
Table cell content [6] Table cell content
Criterion
Sources:
[1] Last name, first name. "Title." Publisher. Location. Date.
[2] Last name, first name. "Title." Publisher. Location. Date.
[3] Last name, first name. "Title." Publisher. Location. Date.
[4] Last name, first name. "Title." Publisher. Location. Date.
[5] Last name, first name. "Title." Publisher. Location. Date.
[6] Last name, first name. "Title." Publisher. Location. Date.
Column heading[3]
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Table cell content
Writing the Body as Paragraphs of Text
For paragraphs of text, in the body sections, the author introduces each criterion and presents the
comparison.
There are two ways to organize the paragraphs of text (see Figure 1):
o Whole-by-whole (W/W) – or Subject-by-subject – covering one subject at a time and
cover the criteria in the same order, applying it consistently and evenly for each subject.
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o Part-by-part method (P/P) – or Point-by-point – covering one criterion at a time and
evaluating it consistently and evenly for each subject, always covering the subjects in the
same order.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Figure 1: Heading Outlines for Whole-by-whole and Part-by-part C/C Papers
[WHOLE-by-WHOL E]
Introduction (introduce subjects,
criteria and ack decision)
[PART -by-PART]
Introduction (introduce subjects,
criteria and ack decision)
Subject A
Criterion 1
Criterion 1
Subject A
Criterion 2
Subject B
Criterion 3
Criterion 2
Subject A
...
Subject B
Subject B
Criterion 1
Criterion 3
Subject A
Criterion 2
Subject B
Criterion 3
...
...
Conclusion
Recommendation (optional)
Conclusion
Recommendation (optional)
Choosing the body organization method
How does the author decide which organization method to order their comparison?
In large part, the answer is based on the way the reader needs to digest the information.


Does the reader want to focus on the subjects? Then use whole-by-whole.
Does the reader want to examine the details of the comparison? Then use part-by-part.
The other consideration is the data that constitutes the comparison.

If the subjects are very similar? Then the only way for the reader to see the differences is
by part-by-part comparison.

If the subjects are very different? Then the only way for the reader to understand the
comparison and making a decision is by using whole-by-whole.
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Writing the Body as a Combination of Both
When you combine both paragraphs of text and a table, then follow the organization
methodology described in the section on "Writing the Body as Paragraphs of Text".
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Whichever method you choose, pick one method and stick with it. The method you choose must
be obvious, by the headings you use. That is, the body headings would match those
words/phrases used in the introduction section exactly.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
How to decide? It depends on how much comparison information you have. If it cannot easily fit
in a table cell, then you need to look at paragraphs of text.
NOTE: When you use Whole-by-Whole, the table you include cannot be a full Comparison
Summary Table with all the subjects. Instead, you would create the table as only two columns:
criteria and the subject being compared.
NOTE: If you use Part-by-Part, then the table you include is described in the section "Writing the
Body as a Comparison Summary Table."
Making Objective vs. Subjective Comparisons
In a comparison paper, the reader needs to make a decision about picking a subject based on their
own situation.
A few problems frequently are found in comparisons you'd see on the internet:
 When the comparison they read is riddled with subjective impressions based on the
author's viewpoint, then the reader has to extract that subjectivity and attempt to figure
out how the subjects compare. For example, "zz is the best approach." Instead compare
objectively.

When comparisons are done in relation to the other subjects, "X is more than Y." Instead,
give facts about each subject independently. For example, if you tell the reader that
subject X is $99 and Subject Y is $110. You don't need to say that Subject X costs less.
The reader can do the math.

When the author tells the reader what to do, "pick zz for best results." Instead avoid this
construct.
See Table 7 for a sample of using facts instead of impressions.
Table 7: Comparing Facts to Impressions
Criteria
Objective (FACTS)
Subjective (Impressions)
Time
2 hours 30 minutes
A lot; half of the morning
Height
6 feet 5 inches
Taller than me
Weight
120 pounds
Just right, heavy, light
Power
240 horsepower
0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds
Outclasses compact vehicles
Source: Full bibliographic source where the information came from
Don't use transitions. They carry emotion &/or impressions. Since C/C is designed to be
unbiased, all emotion/impressions needs to be removed.
o E.g., "however", "but", "unlike <subject>", "only"
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Knowing What Not to do in the body Sections
In the body sections of a C/C document, there are some "don't"s as follows:
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN

Never tell the reader what to do
o E.g., using verbs like "should", "must", "need to"
o Put any language like this in the Recommendation section, if you include one

Never make the decision for the reader, in the body.
o Put any language like this in the Recommendation section, if you include one.

Do not make conclusions about the subjects, until you get to the conclusion.
o Do not say, "subject B has more xxx than subject A".
Instead, give the facts in the body. Then in the conclusion say,
"If you need more xxx, then pick subject B".
Conclusion
Your Conclusion section helps the reader make the decision by evaluating each criterion, now
that they've read/understood the data about the subjects. It's not a place to summarize the
comparison.
The topic sentence reiterates the subjects and criteria. Afterwards, the rest of the conclusion
consists of bullets that provide a series of "if" statements that help the reader make the decision.
They take the following form:
If <criteria content>, then pick <subject>, (optional <reason>).
You can combine criteria information, if they go together, as follows:
If <criteria content> and <criteria content>, then pick <subject>, (optional <reason>).
Yes, this is a redundant way of writing, but when using bullets, the reader understands that.
The pattern calls for the "if" to be centered around the content of the comparison, that is, the
criteria.
NOTE: You must have one "if" statement for each criterion. That way the reader can go through
each criterion and see its effect on the best choice. Alternatively, you could combine criteria if
the decision relates together, but each criterion needs mentioning.
NOTE: Do not use passive voice in the "if" statements. This is a place where you can tell the
reader what to do, because in the conclusion they are looking for that type of resolution.
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In general, if you include a recommendation, then use 1st (singular) POV to refer to yourself and
use biased language as you are providing your own perspective. It's best to base your
recommendation on your own research or experiences.
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Recommendation
In a separate section, you can optionally offer a recommendation based on your (the author)
wisdom. This section needs its own heading so that the shift in tone is clear to the reader.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
In this section only can you actually tell the reader what to do: "Based on my personal
experience with subject X and subject Y, my recommendation would be...."
NOTE: Do not use "if" or "consider" statements in a recommendation; those phrasings are
reserved for the C/C conclusion.
PRE-WRITING STAGE: GETTING STARTED
Various questions/tasks need to be completed during the pre-writing stage of the writing process
as outlined:
1. Purpose: What decision needs to be made
2. Audience: Who are the decision makers? Analyze their knowledge level with respect to the
subjects, criteria, and decision that will be made.
3. Audience analysis: What can you assume about the reader's knowledge of the topics? You
want to analyze any assumptions you can make about the reader's ability to understand the
content so that you can know when you need to define terms, what order the criteria should
be placed in, etc.
4. Do you have any secondary audiences? A secondary audience is someone who might also
read the work, but not need the end result. In this case, a secondary audience might be
someone who is paying for the subject or may be involved in helping the reader make the
decision. If you have any secondary audiences, what is their role in the decision making
process? What might need to be done to make sure what they need is clear?
5. What are the subjects?
6. What criteria does the reader need to see evaluated to understand how to make the decision
the subject? Select criteria based on the decision that needs to be made.
7. Create the comparison summary table:
First column = Criteria, following columns are one per subject to be compared.
TO EXTEND THE C/C PATTERN
There are various ways to extend the C/C pattern as seen in this section.
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When the Comparison as Paragraphs of Text is More Than a Paragraph
If your comparison grows beyond one paragraph, then help your reader keep track of the larger
comparison as seen in Figure 2.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
Figure 2: Outline showing headings/sub-headings for large comparisons
FOR PART-BY-PART
Heading Criteria (1)
Sub-Heading Subject A
paragraphs of information
Sub-Heading Subject B
paragraphs of information
…
FOR WHOLE-BY-WHOLE
Heading Subject A
Sub-Heading Criteria 1
paragraphs of information
Sub-Heading Criteria 2
paragraphs of information
Sub-Heading Criteria 3
paragraphs of information
Heading Subject B
…
To Use Comparison as Paragraphs of Text Requires Criteria Definitions
If your criteria need to be defined before you explain the criteria facts, then you need to add a
definition paragraph before you offer the subject comparison information.
NOTE: If you need criteria definitions, then you must use the part-by-part organization method.
Whole-by-whole does not work. Plus each criterion must be defined. See Figure 3.
Figure 3: Outline for comparison with criteria definitions
Heading Criteria (1)
Paragraph: definition of criteria (1)
Paragraph Subject A (1)
Paragraph Subject B (1)
Paragraph Subject C (1)
Heading Criteria (2)
Paragraph: definition of criteria (2)
Paragraph Subject A (2)
Paragraph Subject B (2)
Paragraph Subject C (2)
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Heading Criteria (3)
Paragraph: definition of criteria (3)
Paragraph Subject A (3)
Paragraph Subject B (3)
Paragraph Subject C (3)
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN
USES OF C/C PATTERN
Once you've understood this basic pattern, there are many ways in which you can change it based
on your situation. For example:

You can compare the subjects in a subjective/biased word choice, rather than objectively.
While biased comparisons are quite common on the internet in reviews, it forces the
reader to extract the bias and apply that perspective to their own life to see if the
evaluation is worthwhile. That's a lot of work to expect the reader to perform.
Unfortunately, despite the onerous workload on the reader, this C/C form is quite
common.

You can alter the contents of the introduction. For example, you may not need to
acknowledge the audience. That may be established in the TO field of an email without
needing to be repeated in the beginning paragraph.

You can consider omitting the conclusion section with the "if" statements and only
include the recommendation section. This would be common if you don't need to help the
reader make the decision, rather only tell them your recommendation of what to do.

You can combine these P/P and W/W models. For example, you could use the part-bypart to explain the differences between two solutions (where the subjects are the
solutions). In the recommendation, pick one of the solutions. Then compare and contrast
using whole-by-whole, comparing the difference between "before the use of the solution"
and "after the use of the solution" as the subjects.

You can use a comparison summary table (CST) (a table of columns: criteria and
subjects, and rows each criteria) as the body (only) or content along with other writing in
the following ideas:
o To help convince or explain to the reader about an action:
By using subjects as BEFORE and AFTER
o To inform or clarify information for the reader:
For example, in Specifications about products
FORMATTING A TABLE IN WORD

So column text won’t wrap, adjust columns alignment with doc edge
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Here are a list of tasks to perform on a table after you've constructed it so that it is automatically
nicely formatted by Word wherever it lives in the document.
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You should assume that all documents are living: they will grow, shrink, be borrowed from, etc.
throughout their lifespan. Therefore, it's important to format a table using WORD's table
properties, rather than post process your formatting every time you're "ready to let others see it,"
which is time that is rarely available.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PATTERN

So headings repeat at top of next page, when tables span page boundary, select table
headings, R-Click, Select Table Properties, Select Row tab, Set Heading Row Repeat

So rows do not span a page boundary (easier to read table across pages), select (whole)
Table, R-Click, Select Table Properties, Select Row tab, disallow “Row to break across
pages”

So Table Title stays with table when co-located at a page boundary, select Table Title, RClick, Select Paragraph, Select “Line and Page Breaks” tab, set “keep with next”

So Table Title lays just above the table, without any white space, select Table Title, RClick, Select Paragraph, adjust the “After” space to be ‘0’

To create a row for Source, Notes, or Legend (each ought to be its own row, not
combined rows), select all cells in last row, R-Click, Select Merge Cells
Page
16
NOTE: Each Sources, NOTES, or Legend must be in their own table cell so that the
reader can find the information.