Introduction

Whether you're editing or proofreading, you're going to be using Microsoft Word because it is an industry standard. Microsoft Word allows you to proofread a document quickly. While the specific aspects of this program are the same regardless of whether you're editing or proofreading (saving a file if you're editing is the same as saving if you're proofreading), how to use specific tools differs depending on whether you're editing or proofreading. It is important for proofreaders to understand how this distinction affects how they should use the different tools that are available. Please note that this course assumes at least a working knowledge of Microsoft 2010 or later.

Using Track Changes

Here is a quick review of how to use Track Changes. In Word 2010 or later, you can click the Review tab and then click on the Track Changes icon. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + SHIFT + E. Since proofreading is concerned with ensuring the technical correctness of a document and is not concerned with content, the changes that are made to a document shouldn't alter the meaning too significantly and should focus primarily on ensuring that the document is error free.

Proofreading and Track Changes

When editors use Track Changes, they tend to focus on big things. They're concerned with internal consistency and comprehension as well as grammar and punctuation. When proofreaders use Track Changes, they are mainly concerned with the punctuation, spelling, and grammar. If you turn on Track Changes and find yourself making significant changes to a text or moving text around and reorganizing paragraphs, you're not proofreading. You're editing.

An edited document will have big chunks of text crossed out in red (the default color for changes made to the text). The changes in a proofread document will be smaller, as the proofreader is primarily concerned with ensuring that the document is grammatically correct. The changes should reflect this distinction.

Comparing and Combining Documents

When proofreading, it is sometimes helpful to be able to compare documents. Comparing documents can help proofreaders to see what changes have been made to a document over multiple revisions. Comparing documents helps a proofreader review a document slowly (which is essential for a proofreader). Comparing a document with another version of the same document helps the proofreader consider each difference individually. Combining documents is a helpful tool if, for whatever reason, a proofreader is working on a single document that has been broken into multiple files. This function will allow the proofreader to combine the document into a single, unified file.

How to Use Compare and Combine

The following steps show how to use the Compare and Combine feature in Word 2010 or later.

• Open Word and click Review located in the ribbon.

• Click Compare and select Compare from the options.

• Click the folder icon to view your documents and select the two documents you want to compare; click OK.

• A new file will be created showing the differences between the two files.

To combine two documents, complete the following steps.

• Open Word and click Review located in the ribbon.

• Click Compare and select Combine from the options.

• Click the folder icon to view your documents and select the two documents you want to combine; click OK.

• The new document that opens for you will be the combined document.

How a Proofreader Uses Compare and Combine

When proofreaders use Compare, their main concern is to identify deviations by going over them slowly and conscientiously. Editors are used to being able to see the large picture or the intended meaning of a particular sentence and fix the sentence on a macro level. However, proofreaders are primarily concerned with the micro level. Therefore, they need to purposefully consider each deviation individually and be able to clearly articulate the reason for any changes they might make to a document.

Combining documents is a tool that is rarely used at the proofreading stage. At this point, the document should already be pulled together, and there should be no need to combine it with another. However, sometimes circumstances will necessitate the combining of documents and it is important for a proofreader to remember that the resulting combined document is the document they need to be concerned about proofreading.

Commenting in Word

Whether you're an editor or a proofreader, the ability to add comments is one of the most important tools that is available in Word. However, the types of comments that you'll be inserting into a document will differ depending on whether you are an editor or a proofreader. The importance of adding comments to any document is that it allows the proofreader to clarify, ask questions, or provide explanations for any of the proposed changes.

How to Use the Comment Tool

To use the Comment tool, follow these instructions.

• Make sure your cursor is where you want the comment to be or that the word or phrase you want to comment on is highlighted.

• Click the Review tab in the ribbon. In the Review tab, there is a New Comment button. Click the button.

• A comment box will appear. Type your comment.

• Make sure to save the file you are working on once you've finished typing your comment.

• If you want to delete the comment you've just inserted, click the comment and you can either right-click and select delete, or you can select delete from the review menu in the ribbon.

How a Proofreader Uses Comments

When editors use the Comment tool, they note clarity issues, how they changed the sentence, and errors in logic or sentence construction. When proofreaders use the Comment tool, they note changes that are related to the overall style of the document. Some examples of a proofreader's comments are:

• I have changed this to "one-way Anova" throughout.

• Citations have been formatted according to APA style guide.

• All Latin terms throughout the document have been italicized.

• Bolivia has been capitalized throughout the paper.

As you can see, these are issues that have little to do with the actual writing or sentence structure. Rather, they are micro issues that are applied in the entire document. At the proofreading stage, there should be no need to point out inconsistency in logic, sentence structure, word choice, etc. All these issues should already have been addressed at the editing stage of a document. At the proofreading stage, simply focus on leaving short, polite comments that apply to the document as a whole.

Summary

There are a number of tools at the proofreader's disposal that can make the job a lot easier and a lot more efficient. The most useful of these tools, the Track Changes feature, allows proofreaders to make changes directly to the text. The writer can then accept or reject these changes as he or she sees fit. The Compare feature offers a way for two documents to be compared side-by-side for differences, while the Combine feature allows two different versions of a document to be integrated. The Comment tool allows proofreaders to make helpful comments in the margins of the document to explain why certain changes were made. Some of these tools may be used more often than others, but all of them will result in a more thorough proofread of a document.

Last Updated: 09/09/2022