This is an example screenshot of my writer document versus the pdf version. The pdf version shows accurately to my settings, but the writer document does not. Is it possible to somehow change that so I don’t have to constantly export pdfs to see how formatting looks?
Thank you!!!
A screenshot does not allow to see all your formatting settings (and you didn’t even enable View>Formatting Marks). You probably constrained your line spacing below the distance defined in the font.
Attach your sample file.
To get the most accurate answer/suggestion, mention OS name, exact LO version and save format (will be reported by the sample file anyway).
You’re responsible for the behaviour.
You imposed a manual 0.51cm line spacing over all your document, including the header. Such a manual forced fixed height prevents the line spacing to react adequately to size changes.
I also note that your document is exclusively manually formatted (direct format in Writer parlance). You should work with styles (read the Writer Guide for an introduction to styles).
PS: 25.2 is not accurate enough. You should report the exact release number with at least 4 numbers, like 25.8.2.2.
Thank you!! This helps a lot. 
