You can then build a library of styles, and apply then to the paragraphs. Headings get a Heading 1, Heading 2, etc., depending on their level of importance. For references you may define a style that indents all lines except the first line. The style names are at the left side of the screen, just above the ruler bar. To see what style a paragraph is in just click on the paragraph and the name will be in the style name area.
Word takes styles a step further.
It assumes that some style names, such as heading , have special meanings. Word can then scan your document and look for any paragraphs with a Heading style. Thus, you should just type the text, and then assign a style name to each paragraph. Word makes it easy bye apply a name Normal to all text paragraphs. The document template makes it easier by defining the format for all the types of paragraphs you will use in a thesis.