Writing a thesis or dissertation is a massive undertaking, and any tool that can save you a headache is worth its weight in gold. One of the most powerful helpers is actually hidden right inside Microsoft Word: its built-in proofing features.
To be honest, I completely missed this back in college. Looking back at all the reflection papers and reaction papers I struggled through, I can only imagine the hours I would have saved if I’d known how to use these tools properly. It wasn't until I started working professionally that I realized just how much heavy lifting Word can do for your editing process.
If you're ready to speed up your writing and catch those easy-to-miss mistakes, here is how to make Microsoft Word your best friend for proofing.
1. Go To File
2. Click Options
3. Click Proofing
4. Under When Correcting spelling in Microsoft Office programs tick the following (this depends on your needs if you want to tick the other options).
- tick Ignore Internet and file addresses
- Flag repeated words
5. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word tick the following.
You can tick the Show readability statistics if you want to know the readability and level statistics your writing/document and also make sure it's easy to read to capture your readers attention and keep their focus.
- Check spelling as you type
- Mark grammar errors as you type
- Frequently confused words
- Check grammar with spelling
*For the Writing Style "choose Grammar & Style" in the drop-down.
6. Save your settings by clicking the OK button.
