The problem has been solved by someone on a forum called "Computer Active" who advised me as follows.
With Word closed, I would rename the Normal.dot template to get a comparison with new documents.
If you press the
Windows + R keys together, in the Open: field, type, or
copy/paste the following blue text:
%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates > OK or press the Enter key.
Look for the Template named Normal > Right click > Rename to > Normal.old
Restart Word, and a new Normal Template will be created for you to try a few sentences and paragraphs created by the Enter key.