Microsoft Word will automatically convert some fractions “1/4” to “¼” for you. This is true for the most common fractions, like:

Word does this by using its “Autocorrect” feature. When the font you’re using has the fractions already formatted, Word will substitute the fraction by using the built-in characters from your font.

But what if you want to type 3/16 and have it look like the other fractions? You can “fool” Word into doing this by using a combination of superscript for the number to the left of the diagonal line (/) and a smaller point size to the right of the line.

This is a simple two-step process, after typing your fraction. First highlight the numbers to the left of the diagonal line, and select superscript in the top ribbon or character dialog box:

You should see something like this:

Next, highlight the numbers after the diagonal line. Then change the point size until it looks like the same size as the first number:

I find that the point size is roughly four “clicks” on the smaller point size symbol in the ribbon bar:

And voila! You have a newly formatted fraction!