Apostrophe is an exponenet

[KDT]

Every time I type the apostrophe, I get an exponent of 5. How do I change it
back to an apsotrophe?

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

Press Ctrl+Z right after it happens.

But, if this is happening all the time, then I wonder if your fonts are
screwed up such that a curved ' is displaying as a small 5.

What happens if you turn off smart quotes? In Word 2007, do this by clicking
the Office button, Word Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options, Autoformat
as you type tab, and removing the check next to "Straight quotes with smart
quotes".

In Word 2003 and earlier, chose Tools, AutoCorrect Options...