Word has a few handy features for use in the classroom that you may not be aware of. If you have your students send their work to you via email, you can edit and make comments in Word and return the documents electronically. Here's how!

Editing

As you read through students' papers, you now have an electronic red pen (or whatever color pen you choose). To have the changes show up on the document you are reviewing, you must first be sure that the reviewing toolbar (Fig. 1) is open.

To open the toolbar:
- click VIEW on the menubar
- select Toolbars
- make sure reviewing is checked

To open the toolbar:
- click VIEW on the menubar
- select Toolbars
- make sure reviewing is checked

Reviewing toolbar (Fig.1)

To begin, click on the track changes icon (Fig.1). This will allow you to see the changes you are making to the document. Text that you insert will be underlined. Text that you delete will have a strikethrough. The default color is red, but you have the option to change that. When several people are reviewing a document, each person's editing can show up in a different color. This can be especially helpful if you want to use peer editing with your class.

To change the color of your editing marks:
- click TOOLS on the menubar
- select Track Changes > Highlight Changes
- at the dialog box - click on Options
- click on the arrow next to Color and select from the menu
- click OK (See Figure 2).
You can now begin to edit the document and the changes will be displayed on the screen.

Highlight changes (Fig.2)

Comments

If you decide the "red pen" approach is not your style, but you still would like to comment on students' papers, you can use the comments feature of Word. Once again, make sure the Reviewing Toolbar is open (see "Editing" if you forgot how). When you get to a section in the text that you wish to comment on, highlight the text and click the Insert Comment icon on the toolbar (Fig. 3).

Reviewing toolbar (Fig.3)

A split screen will then be visible (Fig. 4) and you can enter your comments. When you are finished with your comment, click on the close box. Your initials will appear on the document at that point and the student simply clicks on the initials to get to the comments. You can insert as many comments as necessary in the document.

Comment screen (Fig.4)

To edit or delete any comments that you have made, use the right mouse button (the one you usually don't use) and click on your initials. You can choose edit or delete comment from the menu. Another nifty feature of comments is the ability to look at the comments of all who have reviewed the document before you or just choose a particular reviewer.