How to Change Font Size in LaTeX?

In LaTeX, the document’s font size is set using the \documentclass command, while specific portions of text can be resized using different font size commands.

$\int_{n_{1}}^{n_{2}} x^{2} d x$

This article will explain how to change font size in LaTeX with practical examples.

$\frac{x_{1}}{x_{2}}$

$This is a huge heading.$
$This paragraph is in small font.$

1.Document-wise Font Size (10pt, 11pt, 12pt)

In LaTeX, the document’s overall font size is set using the \documentclass command. There are three standard font options.

10pt (default font size)
11pt (medium font size)
12pt (larger font size)

To set the font size, use the following code:

\documentclass[10pt]{article}  % 10pt font size
\documentclass[11pt]{article}  % 11pt font size
\documentclass[12pt]{article}  % 12pt font size

Here, we used the article document class, but the same method applies to report, book, and other document classes. Changing the font size affects the entire document.

Usually, 10pt is sufficient for academic writing, but research papers and large reports often use 11pt or 12pt for better readability.

2.Font Size Commands

LaTeX provides several commands to change font size for specific portions of a document. Below is a table showing different font size commands and their effects:

Command	Output Size
`\tiny`	Very small font
`\scriptsize`	Subscript-sized font
`\footnotesize`	Small font for footnotes
`\small`	Slightly small font
`\normalsize`	Default font size
`\large`	Slightly large font
`\Large`	Larger font
`\LARGE`	Even larger font
`\huge`	Very large font
`\Huge`	Largest font

There are two ways to use these commands: Inline Use and Block-Level Use.

$\int_{n_{1}}^{n_{2}} x^{2} d x$

2.1 Inline Use

In inline usage, you apply font size commands to specific words or phrases within a sentence.

This is a {\Large large text}, and this is {\tiny tiny text}.

2.2 Block-Level Use

In block-level usage, font size commands are applied to entire paragraphs or sections using curly braces {}. Example:

{\Huge This is a huge heading.}

{\small This paragraph is in small font.}

In this example, text inside {} is formatted with the respective font size.