OneNote should probably be named WayMoreThanNotesItDoesAlmostEverything, but I must admit the former is a much catchier, more marketable name. While this application has a deep feature list, more than most people imagine, the one thing it doesn't do that my students expect it to is act like Microsoft Word when they type. OneNote does not have Word's full-force word processing features, though.
One of the things my students were using OneNote for was keeping and organizing all of the research and pre-writing for their research papers. When it came time to start drafting, many asked "Can we just type our paper in OneNote?" I had told my classes they could draft in whatever program they wanted, so long as they knew how to print to OneNote during the process (so I could review and comment on their drafts) and that they understood the final draft of their paper would require Microsoft Word. (Sorry Google Docs--you still can't format into columns, among other things.)
My problem with reviewing work typed directly in OneNote is that the text lines by default are set to what we understand as single spaced paragraphs. OneNote features inking, which allows me to write on students' papers...just like English teachers have done for years. A traditional double spaced paper provides plenty of room within the text on which to write, so for someone annotating a text, double spaced paragraphs is important. Whatever your reason for wanting double spaced text, lots of us have scratched our heads in confusion when trying to figure out how to do this in OneNote. If that's you, here is how it is done:
1. Let's say the image below is the text you want to have set to double spacing. To start off, simply highlight what you want reformatted. You can also follow these instructions to change your settings before you start typing.
2. Go to the Home tab on the ribbon and select Paragraph Alignment. (It's highlighted in purple in this image, as it should be when you mouse over it.)
3. From there, select Paragraph Spacing Options.
4. This is where it seems weird. Remember, OneNote is not a word processing application. There is not a simple double space click-option. However, this technique accomplishes what you're after. In the box that pops up, select the Line spacing at least field. You can play around with different values that work best for you, but enter a number between 20 and 30 to get the desired paragraph effect. (Font size will affect things.) Personally, I like 30 with the default font because that gives me plenty of space for my annotations.
Obviously, there are other ways to get a paper into OneNote for annotating. However, a number of my students wanted to do all of their drafting in OneNote, which does make sense. Whatever your reason for wanting text "double spaced" in OneNote, these steps should get you there. If you run into any issues, please post a reply.