The Editing Tool in Word

This is a wonderful invention that enables an editor to make easy corrections to a text, which the author can look at and then choose to either accept or reject just by a mouse click. This tool is what all professional editors use today so it is a good idea to become familiar with it. It may be an added plus when looking for a job someday. For those of you who missed the course introduction, I have tried to describe how to use the tool below. If there are any questions about it, you can always come to see me in my office hours for more help. Since each version of Word is different, this description may not fit to your version perfectly, but hopefully will come close enough to your version.

How to set up and use the editing tool to edit a text:

       Getting access to the tool:

  1. Open a file (or cut and past it) in a Word document.
  2. Go to the top menu bar with your mouse and right mouse click it.
  3. A drop down list of the tools will appear. You should choose "Reviewing" (Überarbeiten in German).
  4. Now you should see (depending on your settings) either one or several new icons on your menu bar. You can hold your cursor under the icons to read what each one is.


    5. Activating the tool:

  5. In order to start "tracking" changes, you need to click on/highlight the icon which looks like a piece of paper with a yellow pencil across it, titled "Track Changes" (Änderungen verfolgen). All changes you make, accept, or reject will not be followed by the tool. If you want to make changes that are not tracked, you must first turn off the tracking tool by clicking on it again.

    Setting up the tool:

  6. There are two options for your changes to appear in: Your changes will either appear within the text or along the margins on the side. I prefer the changes within the text. I find it much easier to follow and when printing the changes within the text are visible and those in the margins are not usually all visible. If your changes appear as "Speech Bubbles" (Sprechblasen) I suggest you change it to "strike through" (durchgestrichen) This is a point where the different versions vary so I can only suggest the possibilities I know:
    1. Go to the icon labeled "Show" (Anzeigen) and choose "Speech Bubbles" (Sprechblasen) and "never" (nie).
      Or
    2. Go to "Tools-Options-Track Changes" (Extras-Optionen-Änderungen verfolgen) and choose "underline" and "strickthrough" (unterstrichen und durchgestrichen) as your options.
  7. The above mentioned sites are also where you can change the colors that the program uses to track the changes.
  8. You will also notice a yellow "Insert Comment" (Kommentar) icon which is very helpful for making comments that do not appear directly withing the text. Try using this tool, it is also helpful.

    Editing:

  9. Now you should be ready to start editing. Just delete or fill in words or changes as you see necessary.
  10. When you are finished making changes within the text, do not forget to make a brief comment about the text. The personal touch is always greatly appreciated! (If you have to make a negative comment, it should be followed by something positive to end on!)
  11. When saving your changes, I suggest you add your initials to it. That way it will not overwrite the original file and the author can keep better track of who did what.

How to use the "Reviewing" (Überarbeiten) tool to accept or reject changes made to your text:

  1. Follow the procedures described above for "Getting access to the tool".
  2. Place your cursor just in front of the first correction (or highlight the correction) and decide if you want to accept it (Änderungen annehmen) or reject it (Änderungen ablehnen).
  3. If you want to accept it, click on the "Accept Change" (Änderungen annehmen) icon in the menu bar.
  4. If you want to reject the change, simply click on the "Reject Change" (Änderungen ablehnen) icon in the menu bar.
  5. Continue going through the text in this way.
  6. Save this version by putting your initials after those of your editor's. That way, you have a running record of your work to look at afterwards.
  7. If you have questions regarding changes/comments your editor made to your text, I want to encourage you to write back to your editor. Because a written text is only one moment in a running dialogue between the writer and readers, the more dialogue that takes place around it, the more likely it is that can benefit the writing process and

How to carry out peer editing
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