Widow / orphan control in MS Word

One of the questions that I believe remains unanswered in our FAQ page is the one about Widow / Orphan control. In the description of the paper format we offer with our essay writing services we state that this widow / orphan control is turned off. So, what exactly is widow / orphan control?

Widow / Orphan control explained

In simple terms, widow / orphan control controls “widows” and “orphans.” Widows and orphans in this context are lone lines at the top or at the bottom of the page. You can, for example, complete one paragraph at the first line of a page, and then start a new paragraph, which starts at the second line of the page. This top lonesome line is exactly this “orphan” or “widow.”

Note in the picture to the right; this is the demonstration of a file, in which widow / orphan control is turned off (unchecked). When it is off, it means that the application (MS Word) allows widows and orphans. By default, however, it is turned on, and the application would take one line from the “spouse” or “parent” paragraph, and unites it with the orphan or widow, i.e. the single lone line, as shown on the picture to the right.

How do you turn Widow / Orphan Control On or Off

Open your MS Word application. Open a document (ctrl+o), or create a new one (ctrl+n), then go to Format, Paragraph, then go to the Page position tab, and check / uncheck Widow / Orphan control. And that’s it. If you want to apply it for a certain section of your document, just highlight the section needed and go change the widow and orphan control (although applying it for paragraphs in the middle of a page is useless for obvious reasons).