How to get Microsoft Word to check your grammar and style. (For Word 2007 & Word 2010)

I’ve had a number of requests for this.  Too many folks are still doing things the hard way.   Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I’m lazy and as far as I’m concerned, until Skynet comes knocking, technology is good.   I’ve spoken to too many writers recently who are still checking stylistic errors like passive voice manually, line by line.   Over the course of a long manuscript, you can imagine that such a task may well turn into a repetitive nightmare.    Microsoft Word will do it for you.  In fact, it can do it going back to Word 2003 at least and perhaps even earlier.  By default, it may check grammar only (and underlines it with a green line, just like spell-check underlines misspelled words with a red line).   You have to turn on the style option.

I don’t have a machine with Word 2003 still loaded so I couldn’t do a quick tutorial for that.  But if I remember right, you could get to the option by going to the “Tools” menu, then going to “Options”, and accessing the “Spelling and Grammar” menu from there.  There should be a similar option for “Grammar and Style” and then from there, there should be a way to change your settings.  The settings screen looks very similar to how it looks in Word 2007 and Word 2010.  If you want more specifics than that, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to rely on your google-fu skills.  (“Ha! Ha!  Your google-fu is weak!  I attack you with the Tiger form!”)

Anyway.   Here is a quick tutorial on how to turn on Grammar & Style Check in Word 2007

I recommend pressing through to YouTube, watching it full-screen, and at 720 for best results.

And here is a quick tutorial on how to turn on Grammar & Style Check in Word 2010.  One thing I forgot to mention in the Word 2010 vid, is that there are checkboxes at the bottom of the proofing page that turn off spell check and grammar check for that particular document, without messing with your universal settings.   This might be a good idea to select these when you are composing your first draft so that you do not engage your inner editor as you write and turn off your muse by constantly correcting grammar as you compose.

I recommend pressing through to YouTube, watching it full-screen, and at 720 for best results.

Oh yeah, and if there are any grammar or stylistic errors in this post, I didn’t write it on word, but in the wordpress editor.   Heartily contributing to the first draft society.  Part of the problem, I am.