Overview
ABNT defines academic formatting standards in Brazil. This guide shows how to configure Microsoft Word properly for papers, theses and dissertations.
Main ABNT standards
- NBR 14724 — Academic papers presentation
- NBR 6023 — References
- NBR 10520 — Citations
- NBR 6027 — Table of contents
- NBR 6028 — Abstract
Basic settings in Word
1. Page
- Layout → Margins → Custom Margins
- Top: 3 cm | Bottom: 2 cm | Left: 3 cm | Right: 2 cm
- Orientation: Portrait | Paper: A4
2. Font
- Select all (Ctrl + A)
- Font: Times New Roman or Arial
- Size: 12 (body text)
3. Spacing and paragraph
- Paragraph → Indents and Spacing
- Alignment: Justified
- Special indent: First line 1.25 cm
- Line spacing: 1.5
Element specifications
- Body text: 12, 1.5, justified
- Section title: 12, bold, 1.5
- Long quote: 10, single spacing, 4 cm indent
- Notes/captions: 10, single
Academic structure
- Pre-textual: cover, title page, abstract, TOC
- Textual: introduction, development, conclusion
- Post-textual: references, glossary, appendices
Citations
Short direct quote (up to 3 lines)
According to Silva (2023, p. 45), "education is the foundation".Long direct quote (over 3 lines)
- 4 cm left indent
- Font size 10
- Single spacing
- No quotation marks
Page numbering
- Counting starts at the title page
- Numbers appear at the Introduction
- Top right corner, 2 cm from edges
- Font size 10
Final checklist
- Margins 3 cm (top/left) and 2 cm (bottom/right)
- Font size 12 for body text
- Line spacing 1.5
- First line indent 1.25 cm
- Long quotes with 4 cm indent
- TOC updated
- References alphabetical order
Conclusion
With Word configured from the start, you avoid last-minute formatting. Standardization is the key.