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#9: A Strategy for Grading Essays in Microsoft Word Efficiently

by Dr. Bethanie Hansen | Jun 10, 2020 | Best practices , Grading and Evaluation , Podcast , Teaching Online , Time Management

If this is your question, you’ve come to the right place! Using Microsoft Word for grading is easy with several specific tools, all built into the software. Enjoy the latest podcast for suggestions, tips, and strategies for using Microsoft Word to grade essays.

Autotext is an excellent tool for inserting chunks of feedback you might regularly use. Furthermore, in the Autotext feature, you can add entire rubrics and insert them on the document you’re grading with only one click.

Two images are included here. These images illustrate the process for using Autotext as a grading tool. And for more details, visit Teaching Music Appreciation Online, chapter 12.

Autocorrect is another great tool for inserting paragraphs of frequently used commentary by typing a few letters.

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How to Find Your Document's Readability Score in Microsoft Word

Is your writing smarter than a fifth grader's? Your report, manual, or any other kind of document should match the reading level of your intended audience. You don't want to compose an article for graduate students that is written at an elementary school level. In a couple of clicks, you can find the readability score in Microsoft Word  and make sure the reading level is on point.

Microsoft Word can display the readability score for both the Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaide Grade Level formulas, two of the most commonly used and accurate measures of readability. The higher the Flesch Reading Ease score, the easier it is for most people to understand the document. The Flesch-Kincaide Grade Level score represents the number of years of education generally required to understand the text.

To quickly see the reading level of your Word document or selection of text:

1. Go to File > Options.

2. In the Proofing tab, check the following options:

• Check grammar with spelling
• Show readability statistics

3. Click OK.

4. Click to Review > Spelling & Grammar to check your document for spelling or grammatical errors and also see the readability level of your document.

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With these settings changes, you'll see more readability statistics for your Word document every time you check the document's spelling and grammar.

Microsoft Word Tips

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Write great papers

Write great papers with microsoft word.

You may already use Microsoft Word to write papers, but you can also use for many other tasks, such as collecting research, co-writing with other students, recording notes on-the-fly, and even building a better bibliography!

Explore new ways to use Microsoft Word below.

Getting started

Let’s get started by opening Microsoft Word and choosing a template to create a new document. You can either:

Select Blank document to create a document from scratch.

Select a structured template.

Select Take a tour for Word tips.

Next, let’s look at creating and formatting copy. You can do so by clicking onto the page and beginning to type your content. The status bar at the bottom of the document shows your current page number and how many words you've typed, in case you’re trying to stay maintain a specific word count.

To format text and change how it looks, select the text and select an option on the Home tab: Bold, Italic, Bullets, Numbering , etc.

To add pictures, shapes, or other media, simply navigate to the Insert tab, then select any of the options to add media to your document.

Word automatically saves your content as you work, so you don’t have to stress about losing your progress if you forget to press  Save .

Here are some of the advanced tools you can try out while using Microsoft Word.

Type with your voice

Have you ever wanted to speak, not write, your ideas? Believe it or not, there’s a button for that! All you have to do is navigate to the Home tab, select the Dictate button, and start talking to “type” with your voice. You’ll know Dictate is listening when the red recording icon appears.

Tips for using Dictate

Speak clearly and conversationally.

Add punctuation by pausing or saying the name of the punctuation mark.

If you make a mistake, all you have to do is go back and re-type your text.

Finding and citing sources

Get a head start on collecting sources and ideas for a big paper by searching key words in  Researcher in the References tab of your document.

Researcher uses Bing to search the web and deliver high-quality research sources to the side of your page. Search for people, places, or ideas and then sort by journal articles and websites. Add a source to your page by selecting the plus sign.

As you write, Researcher saves a record of your searches. Just select My Research to see the complete list.

Keep track of all your sources by using Word's built-in bibliography maker. Simply navigate to the References tab.

First, choose the style you want your citations to be in. In this example, we’ve selected APA style.

Select Insert Citation and Add New Source .

In the next window, choose what kind of work you’re citing—an article, book, etc.—and fill in the required details. Then select  OK to cite your source.

Keep writing. At the ends of sentences that need sources, select Insert Citation to keep adding new sources, or pick one you already entered from the list.

As you write, Word will keep track of all the citations you’ve entered. When you’re finished, select Bibliography and choose a format style. Your bibliography will appear at the end of your paper, just like that.

Make things look nice

Make your report or project look extra professional in the Design tab! Browse different themes, colors, fonts, and borders to create work you're proud of!

Illustrate a concept with a chart or a model by navigating to the  Insert tab and choosing  SmartArt . In this example, we chose Cycle and filled in text from the writing process to make a simple graphic. Choose other graphic types to represent hierarchies, flow charts, and more.

To insert a 3D model, select  Insert > 3D Models to choose from a library of illustrated dioramas from different course subjects and 3D shapes.

Invite someone to write with you

If you’re working on a group project, you can work on a document at the same time without emailing the file back and forth. Select Share at the top of your page and create a link you can send to other students.

Now, everybody can open the same file and work together.

Keep learning

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• TECHNOLOGY Q&A

Microsoft Word: Making the grade

Q. Is it possible to check the reading grade level of the letters and reports I write in Word 2016, and if so, how do I do this, and exactly how does this grade - level calculation work?

A. To check your Word document's reading grade level using the Flesch - Kincaid score, from the Word File tab, select Options , Proofing , and under the When correcting spelling and grammar in Word section, make sure the Check grammar with spelling and Show readability statistics boxes are selected. After you enable this feature, open a file that you want to check, and start the spelling tool by pressing the F7 key. After Word finishes checking the document's ­spelling and grammar, the spelling tool also displays information about the document's reading level, as pictured below.

The Flesch - Kincaid Grade Level Test rates text on an approximate U.S. school grade level; for example, a score of 13.0 (as shown in the screenshot) means that the average freshman in college would be expected to understand the text. The specific formula for calculating the Flesch - Kincaid Grade Level score is: (0.39 × ASL) + (11.8 × ASW) — 15.59

In the formula above, ASL = average sentence length (calculated as the number of words divided by the number of sentences), and ASW = average number of syllables per word (calculated as the number of syllables divided by the number of words).

The Flesch - Kincaid Reading Grade Level scoring system was developed in 1975 by J. Peter Kincaid and his team as a special project for the U.S. Navy. According to research published by Robert P. Strauss and Helen Lin of Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, the Flesch - Kincaid grade level of the Gettysburg Address, the U.S. Constitution, and the Internal Revenue Code (as of 2012) are 10.6, 12.3, and 9.8, respectively. Further, this duo calculated the mean average Flesch - Kincaid grade level for the instructions for preparing Forms 1040, 1120, and 1120S tax returns (over a 22 - year period ending in 2012), were 8.4, 10.0, and 10.3, respectively.

And just for fun, I used Word's Flesch - Kincaid tool to calculate that this month's Technology Q&A column scores a 13.0 (mainly because this column's many menu instructions result in more complex sentence structures; I sure hope my column is easier to understand than the U.S. tax code).

About the author

J. Carlton Collins ( [email protected] ) is a technology consultant, a CPE instructor, and a JofA contributing editor.

Note: Instructions for Microsoft Office in “Technology Q&A” refer to the 2007 through 2016 versions, unless otherwise specified.

Submit a question

Do you have technology questions for this column? Or, after reading an answer, do you have a better solution? Send them to [email protected] . We regret being unable to individually answer all submitted questions.

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How-To Geek

Learn these microsoft word features to make college easier.

Get ready for a new class or the school year with these helpful features for essays and papers.

Quick Links

Finding sources with the researcher tool, using smart lookup and search, adding citations and bibliographies, inserting hyperlinks, including footnotes and endnotes, inserting and numbering equations, including page or section numbers.

College is tough enough without spending time trying to figure out how to make your essay meet certain requirements. Microsoft Word offers several features that make writing and formatting your school papers a little easier.

One task you likely spend time on when creating your essay is research. Rather than jump back and forth between Word and your browser, you can use the built-in Researcher tool .

With it, you can find sources like scholarly articles, websites, images, and similar items you need for your paper. Then, add items, insert quotes, and cite the sources directly from Researcher.

On the References tab, click "Researcher" in the Research section of the ribbon.

When the sidebar opens on the right, enter your search term and press Enter.

You'll then see all results for your term provided by Bing. You can review details from journals and websites, select an item to read more, and even add the source directly to your paper.

Another handy tool for doing your research in Word is the Smart Lookup or Search tool. Slightly different than Researcher, this search tool helps you find definitions, pronunciations, and basic information for a search term. For certain types of items, you can add a link or citation to your paper. The tool is basically for general searches which can be quite handy.

This is directly to the left of the Researcher button on the References tab. Click the Smart Lookup or Search button to open the sidebar. Then enter your search term into the box at the top.

You can use the More drop-down arrow to narrow down the results by web or media. This is helpful for providing you with a definition, popular websites for references, and images or other media for your search term.

Depending on the type of item that displays, you can select the plus sign or three dots on the top to cite that source, insert a link, or open the item for full details.

Once you've done your research, it's time to create citations. You normally need a bibliography to list the sources of your in-text references. Word makes citing your sources and listing them correctly an easy task.

Related: How To Automatically Add Citations And Bibliographies To Microsoft Word

Whether you're required to use MLA, APA, Chicago, or another style for your essay, you can add your citations and bibliography in just a few steps.

To add a citation, go to the References tab and the Citations & Bibliography section of the ribbon. Choose the writing format from the Style drop-down list.

Then, select Insert Citation > Add New Source, enter all the necessary details, and click "OK." You'll then see your citation in your text.

When you're ready to create the bibliography, place your cursor in the spot where you want it. Select the Bibliography drop-down box on the References tab and choose the one you want to use.

This automatically creates and formats the bibliography for you per the writing style you selected earlier.

For complete details and additional features, take a look at our dedicated article on citations and bibliographies in Word .

When you add citations and other references to your document, you might need to link to them if they're on the web. You can easily add hyperlinks to text in your document.

Select the text you want to link and either right-click or head to the Insert tab.

Choose Links > Insert Link and choose "Existing File or Web Page" in the box that appears. Enter or paste a copied URL into the Address box and click "OK."

You'll then see your text linked to your web source.

If you have notes you want to add to your paper such as a comment or additional information, you can include those details in footnotes and endnotes. This allows you to add the information you need to the bottom of the page (footnote) or end of the section or paper (endnote) without distracting from the main content.

Related: How to Use Footnotes and Endnotes in Microsoft Word

To add one or the other, place your cursor in your text where you want the indicator to appear. Go to the References tab and Footnotes section of the ribbon. Choose either "Insert Footnote" or "Insert Endnote."

You'll see the superscript indicator where you placed your cursor and be automatically directed to the footnote or endnote to add your details.

If you want to adjust the format, placement, numbering, or other features, check out our full tutorial on footnotes and endnotes in Word .

If the type of paper you're composing is for a math class, you'll likely need to include equations. With Word, you can add equations formatted correctly and number your inserted equations as well.

Related: How to Make a Fraction in Microsoft Word

To add an equation, you can use the Ink to Math equation editor . Head to the Draw tab and select "Ink to Math."

Write your equation in the large center area and you'll see a preview on top. You can use the erase, select and correct, or clear tools as needed.

When you finish, click "Insert" to pop the equation into your paper.

If you're required to number your equations or simply prefer to, you can easily add captions to them. Select an equation, go to the References tab, and pick "Insert Caption" in the Captions section of the ribbon.

When the Caption box opens, choose "Equation" in the Label drop-down list. Then, select the position or adjust the numbering as needed. Click "OK" to insert the caption.

One more feature of Word that might be a requirement for your essay is numbering. You can include page or section numbers, choose the placement, and make the first page different if you're using a title page.

Related: How to Work with Page Numbers in Microsoft Word

To add page numbers, go to the Insert tab and Header & Footer section of the ribbon. Use the Page Number drop-down menu to select the area of the page and then pick an option for the position of the numbers.

To change the pages containing numbers, remove the first page from numbering, and include any other details with the page numbers, open the Header & Footer tab. You'll see this tab if you double-click in the header or footer where you place your page numbers.

For details on using section numbers, review our how-to for working with page numbers in Word .

For citing sources, linking to them, doing research, and organizing your paper with page numbers, these Word features should have you off to a great start for your school year.

For more, look at how to change the margins or how to use double-spacing in your Word document. And as you pursue your future career, learn a few quick tips on formatting professional-looking documents in Word .

How to Use Microsoft Word Effectively for Essay Writing

Microsoft Word for Essay Writing

Using the traditional pen and paper to draft your essay has not completely gone out of style. However, if you want to effectively write, proofread and format your essay all at the same time, you need a sophisticated approach that would allow you to do all these in due time to succeed in professional essay writing from scratch.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about the Microsoft Word program but it is a word processing tool that you can’t do without in your profession. You get to use it daily as you go about your work.

Learning the basic aspect of using the program is quite not difficult. Most of us get to use the word processing program after learning the basics without taking out time to learn the more important features the program has.

To most people, that aspect is not necessary once they can type, search and replace words and make use of the format margins. I am guilty of that myself. I didn’t take out time to learn more than the basics before joining the tool.

I found out in my continuous use of Microsoft Word over the years that the program has some tricks that help to save time. If you are an impatient writer like me that wants to get each job done in the soonest possible time, you should learn about these alternative tools in the program. You will save a lot of time doing so.

Features How to Use Microsoft Word Effectively for Writing

• Track Changes . This feature comes in handy when I want to edit my work or give constructive criticism of another person’s work. The changes you make on the document appear on a highlight and that includes changes in format and deletions. The TRACK CHANGES option can be seen in the REVIEW tab and with it, the texts you edit are highlighted in red color.
• Document Map . The use of headings gives you an overview of the entire structure of the document when you use the special feature called DOCUMENT MAP. This feature makes it easy for you to skip through long documents and also to get the full picture of the storyline.
• Headings and Styles . When you make the necessary changes of marking section and chapter titles with the heading, it will make it easy for you to format the heading for the document in a single place. I use NORMAL for the body of the document and HEADING1 for the chapter titles.
• Headers and Footers . On the old typewriter, the typist has to manually include the page number and author name. This has been upgraded to a word progressing tool. You can add that information just once using the HEADER and it automatically appears on all pages.
• Comments . This can also be seen in the REVIEW column. With this feature, you can include margin notes into your document. This feature can be used for plenty of functions by a writer. For instance, you can use it to include reminders for some editing work you need to do in the future. You can also use it to create reminders on ideas you wish to develop later on in your document.
• Table of Contents . Most documents don’t need a table of content but when a document requires it, it can be stressful to manually create one. Not just the creation aspect, you have to go through the stress of updating it anytime you add more information to your document. The headings feature and TABLE OF CONTENTS work together. That is the Table of contents creates a table of headings and includes the page number where the heading can be found.
• Views . Microsoft Word provides you with different view options. With this option, you can get an overview of your overall manuscript in different ways.
• Compare Documents . Making edits manually in an older version of a manuscript can be a pain in the ass. This feature provides a highlight to pronounce the difference between the two documents. With this feature, you can go through the document at a later date and pick the better version.
• Full Screen . If you wish to focus on your writing without worrying about different tabs and editing buttons, the full-screen option comes in handy to minimize distraction.
• View Side by Side . With this feature, you can open up and review two documents at the same time without having to close one first.
• Integration with Endnote . If you are working on a nonfiction project, you will need to include a lot of references in your work. The endnote feature enables you to keep track of your references in a neat way.
• Full Page . This feature enables you to view your work as a full document. This is not the best mode for reading, but it allows you to check your documents for formatting errors and blank pages.

You can effectively use Microsoft Word for your professional essay writing if you consistently practice with the software and look for new tips every day. Microsoft Word is easy-to-use software but you don’t want to stop at the mediocre level. There are other things you could do with your software as outlined in this educational piece.

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Word for Writing: A Comprehensive Guide for Students

Enhance Essays with Microsoft Word's Grammar Check

How to use a cross-reference in Word

Tips for Using Microsoft Word to Write Essays

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The purpose of this article is to provide some guidance for undergraduates—particularly for first-year students—who aren’t familiar with the different functions of Microsoft Word that they can use for writing their essays at uni. Knowing these shortcuts and tips will make your formatting neater and your overall presentation more professional, and save you time!

Indentation

Indent paragraphs by going to the ‘Home’ tab then the ‘Paragraph’ menu (not by using the space bar or tab key). Under ‘Indentation’ select ‘First line’. It will automatically set it to 1.27 cm.

Page Breaks

Insert a page break by pressing Ctrl + Enter (or go to the ‘Insert’ tab and select ‘Page break’) rather than using the space bar to do it. Using the Enter key will often result in the new page not beginning where you want it to if any other changes are made to the document later.

Insert a footnote by going to the ‘References’ tab and then selecting ‘Insert Footnote’. Doing it any other way will result in footnotes that aren’t linked or formatted correctly.

Set Language

Go to the ‘Review’ tab and then the ‘Language’ group. Select the drop-down menu under ‘Language’ and click on ‘Set Proofing Language’. Here, you can change the language that the Spelling & Grammar checker will use to ‘English (Australia)’.

This will help you to pick up some (but not all) American spellings that should be corrected to Australian when doing your spell check. It is best to set your language again at the very end by selecting all your text and then setting the language immediately before doing the spell check (because sometimes Word will ‘automatically detect’ your language and change it back to American while you are writing your essay).

For more information about using Word to proofread your document, see our articles ‘ How to Use MS Word for Proofreading ’ and ‘ Grammar & more—Understanding Your Grammar Checker Options ’.

To check your word count, highlight the text you want to check (your essay not including your bibliography or reference list), then go to ‘Review’ and click on ‘Word Count’ in the ‘Proofing’ group. Untick the box to ‘Include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes’. This way you will know your total word count, not including your references.

Don’t use any fancy formatting for headings or cover pages, especially nothing that uses a coloured font, borders or underlining. It isn’t necessary and doesn’t follow standard university formatting guidelines. For more information about standard university formatting guidelines, see our article ‘ How should I format my university essay ’.

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Teaching with Microsoft Word

Word provides a writing instructor with a wide range of ways to integrate word processing into the classroom. We have included a list of some of the most popular options here, but this list is certainly not exhaustive.

Option 1: Developing Close Reading Skills

Students can work individually or in groups, responding to guided questions about readings, or they can use the formatting and highlighting features of Word to visually ‘mark-up’ a passage. By taking a passage out of context, students can be forced to look much closer at the rhetorical “clues” provided in the text.

Sample Exercise: Close-Reading Textual Fragments

(Cindy Landwehr)

• Read the fragment of the story I’ve given you at least three times and very carefully. Don’t worry that it seems “out of context”—it is, and this may help you notice details that you wouldn’t notice if you were just reading for plot.
• Identify all the details or collections details that seem significant, troubling, important, or intriguing to you. These could be images, objects, specific words or phrases, ideas, relations. Mark on the paper as much as you want to—go ahead and underline words and make notes in the margins.
• Now, type out a list of the actual phrases or sentences that you have identified, and one by one reflect on what interests you about the details you have chosen. What is enlightening or puzzling or interesting about them? What do they reveal about the character(s) involved—judging from the passage that you are interpreting, how would you describe each character’s state of mind, personality, characteristics, and relationship with the other character(s)? What seems to be happening—plot-wise—in the story at this point?
• You will have the rest of the class period to compose your response. When you are finished, make sure to read over for things you may want to change or make clearer or add to, and of course proofread for typos and mechanical errors. You will be printing this out at the end.

INTEGRATED OPTION:  Including the passage in the file would allow students to mark up the passage on-line, eliminating the need for retyping phrases.

Option 2: Using Microsoft’s “Insert Picture” Feature to Stimulate Discussion and Teach Verbal/Visual Literacy

Using Word’s “Insert Picture” function is an excellent means to encourage close reading as well as to distinguish variations in student initial responses to literary texts is the interpretive pairing of graphic with verbal imagery.

SAMPLE EXERCISE: JUDGING BOOKS BY THEIR COVERS?

(Laurie George)

In the following example, a simple Google “Image” search for photographs used by Jon Krakauer in his book  Into the Wild  produced the following self-portrait of the book’s protagonist, Christopher McCandless, a photograph that Krakauer reprinted as the first image (notably graphic, not verbal) inside the book’s cover.

One of his last acts was to take a picture of himself, standing near a bus under the high Alaska sky, one hand holding his final note toward the camera lens, the other raised in a brave, beatific farewell. His face is horribly emaciated, almost skeletal. But if he pitied himself in those first difficult hours—because he was so young, because he was alone, because his body had betrayed him and his will had let him down--it’s not apparent from the photograph. He is smiling in the picture, and there is no mistaking the look in his eyes. Chris McCandless was at peace, serene as a monk gone to God.

(Krakauer, Into the Wild, 1996)

Downloading the image into a Word file and then pairing it with some of Krakauer’s verbal descriptions of the starving McCandless provide excellent pedagogical means of teaching assorted critical approaches to literature—that is, an instructor can pose questions to students that reveal biographical, cultural, and/or formalist reader predispositions toward the interpretation of literature, questions such as these:

Why did Krakauer decide to include this picture (rather than the one of McCandless waving at the camera) and how does it complement/contrast with the verbal description he fashions when characterizing McCandless in the final stages of the young man’s life, starving to death in the wilderness that he had so idealized?

Does the photographic self-depiction of McCandless mesh with Krakauer’s imagined verbal depiction of the young man’s final days, thoughts, and emotions? What matters about any variance in the two depictions—is one less “true” than the other? What does any difference reveal about Krakauer’s so-called journalistic objectivity?

Such questions provide an excellent means to start a discussion of any text, as students can be asked to “read” the photo in relation to any number of philosophical/theoretical approaches (Naturalism, Realism, or Romanticism, for examples) and contrast these ideals with the verbal textual representations before writing about them.

Undertaking these interpretive exercises in class, students are introduced to core concepts of visual literacy and reader-response theory and must address core questions:

Do these graphic depictions enrich readers’ (difficult) pleasure by accompanying verbal text, or simply entertain and reproduce cultural stereotypes?

Do graphic additions rob readers’ imaginations, which might otherwise conjure revelatory images of an altogether different kind?

Option 3: Using Microsoft's Comment Tool to Annotate Texts

As much literature can be found online (Amazon.com publishes lengthy excerpts of even the most recent novels in online advertisements), an excellent means of teaching students to read closely and annotate thoughtfully (not just circle and underline) is to copy and paste a portion of any text (poetry, prose, whatever) into a Microsoft Word read-only document, have students make personal copies of the document in class, annotate the excerpt, and then project students’ annotated texts for discussions of the text, either in the computer classroom or in the seminar room via the laptop.

Sample Exercise: Annotating Text with Microsoft Word

Note: The collaborative nature and in-class locale of this exercise is important, as students can easily and readily access databases from the English Library Web page ( http://www.lib.washington.edu /subject/English/) to provide biographical, etymological, and socio-historical glosses to a variety of terms and allusions in the text. All enrich class discussion and broaden students’ horizons about critical approaches to literary interpretation.

On Thursday we’ll be spending the first half hour of class annotating an excerpt of “The Lottery,” using various databases available to us via the UW Library—specifically, Literature Resource Center (to find biographical information about Jackson), Oxford Reference Online, and English Language Dictionaries.

The goal is not to find critical articles that provide a story interpretation for you, but for you yourself to build an interpretation of Jackson’s story by stopping at any word, phrase, or allusion that she chooses to include. Do this remembering that Jackson started with a blank page and was fastidious about the words she used to craft characterizations, setting, mood, conflict, etc.—always remember that she had choices, that she had designs on you as a reader to think and feel a certain way about the cast of characters and how things play out during the course of the plot. Words are her essential means of gaining your attention, especially through language connotations, denotations, and allusions.

When you find a word, also use the thesaurus feature in Word (in the Tool bar above, select Tools > Language > Thesaurus) to consider how Jackson might have chosen other words that would have attracted/distracted your attention to different character attributes and themes.

So in the first half hour tomorrow, I will have you comb the first part of this text, its exposition, highlighting words and phrases in which to insert your annotations, your commentary.

So in the first half hour tomorrow, I will have you comb the first part of this text, its exposition, highlighting words and phrases in which to insert your annotations, your commentary.  To do this:

Highlight the word or phrase in Jackson’s story that you are researching

Find the Tool Bar at the top of the page and left click on Insert

Drop the cursor down to Comment, selecting it

Keyboard your comment into the pop-up box that appears, briefly noting the information you researched and why you find it useful 

Option 4: Using Audio to Facilitate Textual Annotation

(Definition and sample assignment, Laurie George)

Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.

Gustave Flaubert

Although instructors think most readily of using DVD clips in classrooms, not as frequently do we consider audio without the visual—any number of sites online feature audio clips of poetry, short stories, speeches, and novels read by the authors:

In the following exercise, students are asked in the computer classroom to listen to a writer’s oral rendition of their text as the students read the written rendition onscreen, and then respond in writing to their audiovisual reading of authorial voice.

Some background: because it is important in audio sessions to have students focused on listening rather than distracted by other considerations, students arrive at the listening session (such as the one described below) well versed in the differences between indirect and direct modes of literary address, as well as generic differences between memoirs and fiction.

Students are also well aware of the basic plot line of the selected text featured: in the case below, a 41-year-old man describes his class meetings of Alliance Francaise in Paris, a class he enrolled in willingly to learn French despite his fears that the pedagogical model would be less than collaboratively constructive. His fears are realized; his instructor proves to be extraordinarily abusive towards all the students in the class, whatever their race, gender, or ethnicity: discipline and punish is one way of encapsulating the thematic core of this David Sedaris essay.

Plot in mind, students are asked to listen to the text in the computer lab as they read the print text from the screens in front of them, and to insert comments (from the Insert column of the shortcut bar on Microsoft Word) as they read and listen. The exercise works best if the clip is replayed at least once, and better twice.

Option 5: Using Word's Readability Tool to Evaluate Texts

Microsoft Word also includes a tool for checking a text’s readability, whether that “readability” concerns a student essay, a critical essay, a wall graffiti note, a blog entry, a presidential address, a short story, a novel, etc.

This tool is therefore enormously useful for checking the stylistic profile of any professional- or lay-authored text, including the fictional styles of characters and personae penned from whatever actual or virtual source.

Sample Exercise: Examining Texts with Word's Readability Tool

Any document saved into Microsoft Word can be scanned for certain “readability statistics” by configuring Word in the following ways:

Only after a text goes through the keyed-in process of running Spell Check does this program display information about the readability of the document—but it does, finally, and this is what it displays:

The most useful features of the tool relate to a student’s editing concerns for their own writing or a student’s need to analyze the stylistic features of a professional writer. Both goals apply to the three headings of “Counts,” “Averages,” and “Readability” in the following ways:

• In a student draft, does the text include enough words—or too many—slightly fitted or stuffed into paragraphs that match the writer’s rhetorical goals for a given reading audience?
• In the professional text, does the variance of word averages indicate a kind of authorial style—for example, the minimalism of a Raymond Carver story? Alternatively, does a high count of words in a page of dialogue reveal verbosity in a certain set of characterizations?  How many paragraphs are included in this passage—if there were more or fewer, would the emotional and logical effect on the viewer be different? Would the difference add to credibility in whatever fashion?
• If a character in a fictional work is speaking a piece labeled “readable” in this manner, how reliably literate is this character?
• If the character or the author writes in extremely brief or extensively long sentences, what does the simplicity or complexity of the style reveal about the character, or the author’s style or the author’s values?
• What about the character’s or author’s passivity or activity in sentence construction? What does this stylistic attribute reveal about the character or author—is the writer hiding culpability behind passive voice? Is the author implying thematically that a character is unwilling to take agency, the passive voice indicative of that resistance?
• If conventional criteria measure this writing excerpt as “low” in the conventional reading level of “Flesch-Kinkaid” grade levels, then what does this gradation imply about the readers’ values or the evaluators’ values concerning literacy?

Option 6: Brainstorming and Freewriting

Brainstorming and freewriting often work best when they are made a regular part of the class routine. Word makes it easy to do this. Some instructors start off every day in the computer classroom with a ten-to-fifteen minute freewrite or with an electronic journal response. Alternatively, students could be given time in class to brainstorm before a paper is due. Unlike a handwritten freewrite, both the student and the instructor can share the end product. Students can print out a copy or save a copy to disk, and instructors can review the class responses from their offices.

Sample Exercise: Working Toward an Interpretative Thesis

During this class period, you will be working toward a strong, interpretive thesis based on the evidence and ideas you’ve already collected about your topic. The following steps are designed to help you get started in the thesis process; feel free to skip or alter them—whatever will help you most. Have the people near you read what you have written and advise you on it; ask questions, and offer suggestions. There’s no need to be silent. Hold the mouse over highlighted text to see instructions on how to do various tasks. Remember to SAVE OFTEN.

Review your journal entry from last night and, in the space below, type in your “proto-thesis,” or a summary of what you think you want to write about. If you need a few sentences, that’s okay; this statement is just a place to get you started. 

II. Argument Brainstorm

As we’ve discussed in class, every argument breaks down into a number of sub-arguments—a series of subordinate ideas that are the building blocks of the larger argument. In the space below, begin to think about how your topic could be broken down. Start by looking at your topic statement above and listing off all the ideas that seem related to it. Or, if that doesn’t work, try listing a series of questions that you think you would need to answer in a paper about that topic. List these ideas, sub-topics, and questions in the left-hand column of the chart. In the column to the right, list two or three pieces of evidence that might be useful in developing a paragraph about each sub-topic. Try, whenever possible, to be very specific about your evidence. Don’t worry about whether or not you will use each one of these—at this point you are just generating ideas. If you run out of space, insert more rows in the table.

III. Speculations

Now, think carefully about the lists above. Generate a series of claims related to your topic that could serve as subtopics to organize and to develop your argument. Your goal here is to construct claims; write out complete sentences, as if these were going to be the topic sentences of your paragraphs. Use the top box to brainstorm freely, and come up with as many ideas as possible. Once you generate your list, cut and paste different claims into the bottom boxes, and experiment with organizing your ideas in different ways.

IV. Thesis Statements

Now that you have worked though your ideas and listed out both your evidence and possible organizational strategies, try to come up with two or three possible thesis statements. Look carefully at the lists you have made; you may have several more thesis options that you originally thought.

V. Peer Commentary

Review the worksheet, especially sections III and IV, and then comment on the thesis statements above. Consider whether or not the thesis seems broader than the ideas expressed in the brainstorming section. Does it seem arguable? How clear is it? Does it oversimplify? Is it too complex? Be sure to write your name in the gray box above your comments.

If you want to work with these reviews at home, be sure to print a copy of this file or save a copy to disk.

Integrated Option:

Additional instructions for how to add more rows to tables, print and save can be added using the comment function. When students move the mouse to the highlighted text, these instructions appear in a comment window.

Option 7: Peer Reviews and Self Assessments

Word gives you a number of options for peer-reviews and for student self-assessment. Students can read ‘hard-copies’ of each other’s papers, then write a peer review, assessing the strengths and weakness of the argument. Or they can comment on the paper electronically, making a copy of their partner’s file and inserting comments into the document itself. Word provides a number of features to help make their inserted comments stand out. Students can use the Comment feature or the Highlight feature, described below, or simply place all their comments in bold or in capital letters.

Sample Exercise: On-Screen Peer Editing

(Laura Kuske) Today you are going to workshop your peer’s paper and provide advice on how he or she could strengthen the argument. This time, your review will focus especially on organization, evidence, and paragraph structure. You will be working in pairs and using the prompts below to guide your responses to your partner’s paper. Before you begin, you will need to follow these initial instructions.

Getting Started

Step 1: Exchange file names with your partner, and open his or her document. Double-click on the “Word” icon to open Microsoft Word. Select Open from the File menu, and choose your partner’s file from the directory list.

Step 2: Make a personal copy of your partner’s file. Since you will be making changes to the file, you want to make sure you are working from a COPY, not the original. To do this, Select Save As from the File menu, and rename the file as directed by your instructor.

Step 3: Tell the computer who you are. The person you are reviewing will want to know who said what; you need to tell the computer who you are so it can attribute your comments to you. To do this, select Options from the Tool menu. From the window that pops up, select User Information. Type in your name and initials at the prompt.

Step 4: Begin your review. To insert comments, highlight the text you are commenting on and select Comments from the Insert menu. Type in your suggestions in the window that appears at the bottom of the screen. To add end comments, simply scroll to the end of the document, click the mouse at the bottom of the text, and begin typing. Use the following questions as your guide, and be sure to save your work periodically.

The Peer Review

1. Read the paper over once, fairly quickly. Do not make any comments. You are merely trying to formulate a general impression of the argument as a whole. At the end of the paper, describe your initial response to the argument. Without referring back to the essay, see if you can summarize the main points. What does the paper seem to argue? How persuasive did you find the argument? Thinking back, can you remember the logic of the argument, or is it all a blur? Was there anything about the paper that grabbed your attention? Were there claims that you strongly disagreed with or found insufficiently supported?

2. Reread the paper slowly and carefully, and comment on the introductory paragraph. First, find the thesis, and underline it. Next, insert a comment evaluating its effectiveness; consider both the myths and purposes of a thesis that we discussed in class last week.

3. Next, take a closer look at each body paragraph, and identify two that you feel might benefit from further revision. Considering all the structural issues we discussed today, think carefully about how the paragraph is put together:

Is there a topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph? If so, highlight it, and comment on how well it fulfils its role. Does it present a concept or a detail from the story? Does it connect to the thesis?

Does it have a clear relationship to the ideas developed in the preceding paragraph? How well does it capture the main idea of the paragraph? If there is no clear topic sentence, comment on what you think the topic of the paragraph might be.

Look at the body of the paragraph. Insert your comment(s). Consider what type and how much evidence is used; is there enough? Is there too much evidence? Are claims being developed over the course of the paragraph? Does the writer do more than merely summarize from the story? Does he or she present you with specific details from the text? Does the writer explain what the evidence proves and WHY?

4. Insert a comment at the end of the paragraph considering the paragraph’s conclusion. Does the paragraph offer one? Does its conclusion offer any new perspective on the evidence and on how it relates to or develops the ideas expressed in both the topic sentence and in the thesis? Does the conclusion seem forced or obvious? Does it seem unrelated to the evidence offered? Do you see how the conclusion can be derived from the evidence offered?

Printing Your Comments

When you and your partner have finished commenting, you can print out a copy of the paper with all the comments. From the File menu, select Print. To select this option, you must use the menu; do not use the print icon. In the window that pops up, click on Options. Make sure that there is a check-mark next to Comments in the list that appears. If the check is not there, simply click the mouse in the box to insert the check-mark. Now, click OK to return to the print menu. Click OK again to send your file to the printer.

Sample Exercise: Self-Assessment of Organization in Film Analysis

(E.L. George)

In this revision of your essay, I'd like you to assess your own draft (before a classmate moves to your workstation to respond):

1. Make a copy of your essay and name it movie#OR

2. In the copy, above the title, use 14 pt. bold faced font to state your thesis (even if it appears again in the introductory paragraph). Then number the paragraphs in boldface in the space following each paragraph (create space as you need to).

3. Reread each paragraph, and in the space you've created, type out the main claim of the paragraph (if you use topic sentences in your paragraph, you would rewrite the topic sentence).

Examine the list, and ask yourself the series of questions noted in The St. Martin's Handbook.

What organizations strategies are used? spatial? chronological? logical? [compare & contrast?]

Are they used effectively and consistently?

Do the main points clearly relate to the thesis and to one another? Are any of them irrelevant [disunifying the essay]?

Can you identify any confusing leaps from point to point?

Do you need to provide additional or stronger transitions?

Can you identify clear links [either through a logical shift of ideas or obvious transitions or repeated words ] between paragraphs and ideas? Do any others need to be added?

Have any important points [about the likenesses and differences of movie x on corporate life vs. movie y] been left out? (63)

Sample Exercise: Self-Assessments Using Auto-Summary

(Laura Kuske)

Paper Title:

Today, instead of reviewing a partner's paper, you are going to do an extended assessment of your own writing… with a little help from Microsoft Word. Part of the point of today's exercise is to expand our discussion of paragraph structure and argumentative logic to include transitions -- which means that we are going to begin focusing on how to clearly express the connections BETWEEN ideas and between paragraphs. In order to begin to see why transitions are important, we are going to spend the first part of class today working on creating an abstract of our arguments. Ideally, an abstract can be formed by collecting the main ideas of an argument into a single paragraph. But for an abstract to MAKE SENSE, these ideas have to be expressed in ways that make the relationships between ideas clear, while still accurately reflecting the specific content of the paragraphs. That can be quite a challenge, and the attempt can often reveal quite a bit about the places where the connections are not yet clear enough in the larger argument.

What we do today may seem a little confusing at first, because you are going to move back and forth between two Word files -- this worksheet and your own paper-- and we are going to try out a few 'advanced' Word commands. If you have problems or get lost along the way, just raise your hand and I'll help get you back on track.

1. Begin by opening the file containing your draft. Do not close this worksheet before opening your paper. You will need to have BOTH files open to do this exercise. To move between the two files, click on the Windows menu and select to file you want to look at.

2. Once your paper file is open, select AutoSummarize from the Tools menu. AutoSummary will review your paper, collect what it takes to be your main ideas, and write an abstract of your paper. From the window that appears, select the option to hide everything but the summary, and set the percentage at 10%. Click OK. Word will create an abstract of your paper. Although the rest of your paper will disappear, it is still there. You may need to delete a few extra paragraph returns to format the summary. It should appear as a single paragraph. Creating/Critiquing/Revising your Computer Generated Abstract

1. Read carefully through the summary Word created. Does it seem accurate? Does the abstract read smoothly or is it choppy, abrupt or confusing? Pretend, for a moment, that this was not computer generated, but something written by you to be submitted (for instance) on the class Web page. Critique the abstract in the space below. Would you submit this abstract as representative of your paper and your writing? Why or why not? How would you revise it? Comments:

2. Now, return to your paper, and increase the percentage of the text Word uses to create the AutoSummary to 15%. Reread the summary. Keep playing with the percentage until you have what you consider to be the best 'raw material' for an abstract of your paper. You will be editing and revising this, don't worry if you have to include extra material to get in all the ideas you want to include. Cut and paste the text from your abstract here. Percentage: Abstract:

3. You are going to revise this material in a moment, but first, take a look at exactly what parts of your paper the computer selected to create your abstract. To do this, return to your paper file and click OK to clear away the summary and return to the argument itself. Select AutoSummarize again, but this time, select the option to hightlight key points and click OK. Set the percentage control window to the same percentage you used to create your abstract. Scroll through your paper and observe what parts of your paragraphs--and how much of the paragraphs-- the computer is using. Do the computer's selections reflect the topic sentence/conclusion pattern you might expect? How much 'other' material did you have to include to get a complete outline of your argument? Did the computer skip over some of your topic sentences and conclusions? Why? Comment on the patterns you notice and reflect on what they might suggest.  Comments/Observations:

Now cut and paste the raw material above into the box below and revise it into a concise and accurate abstract for your paper. Your abstract should be no more than 12-15 sentences (approximately 1 to 2 sentences per paragraph). It should provide a reader with a quick summary of all your main points, and the ideas should 'flow' together smoothly. It should not read like a list. It should read like an overview of an argument. Revised Abstract:

When you are done, print out a copy of this page (only this page.), and a copy of your paper. You will be giving a copy of your paper and your abstract to a peer partner to review.

Option 8: Writing Workshops

Word offers a range of powerful tools to help workshop writing, especially when used in conjunction with the overhead projector. Word allows you to highlight text in different colors, track editorial changes made to a document, or move text around in order to try out a variety of organizational or stylistic strategies.

Sample Exercise: Group Highlighting

(Kimberlee Gillis-Bridges)

Students participated in the following writing workshop during the class preceding the final draft due date. The essay assignment asked students to analyze a single scene from one of three early horror films, focusing on the narrative and cinematic elements at play in the scene. Before the workshop, I created a document featuring excerpts from students’ papers as well as links to digitized video clips of the scenes. The excerpts represented the three main problems students had with their drafts: their paragraphs tended to be diffuse discussing several technical elements that served different functions; paragraphs often had little discernible connection to the thesis; and formal film terminology was absent or misused.

As they viewed the projected essay excerpts, the class analyzed weaknesses and developed strategies for revision. During the workshop, students asked to view the linked clips to confirm details or to point out cinematic elements the writer had missed. I served as recorder, using Word’s highlighting function to mark passages as directed by the students. Writers whose paragraphs we analyzed could copy their marked passages and paste them into another document; a number of writers did so during the workshop, taking notes on their peers’ comments, then saving the marked passage once the class had completed the review.

The following example demonstrates how students marked the excerpts:

Scene:  Dracula; scene in which Dracula and Van Helsing Meet

Writer’s Thesis:  The scene separates Dracula and Van Helsing from the other characters as it pits the two against one another in a struggle between evil and good.

Explanation of Highlighting:  The yellow highlighting marks a passage connected with the first part of the thesis--that technical elements of the scene separate Dracula and Van Helsing from the other characters. Although the passage suggests that a pattern of alternating close-ups distinguishes these two characters from other characters in the scene, the class thought that the idea needed further explication, perhaps in another paragraph. The green highlighting indicates an idea that the class thought detracted from the analysis in the rest of the paragraph. The blue highlighting marks a passage the class viewed as connected to the thesis. Students suggested that the writer make this passage the focus of the paragraph. They also suggested that the writer connect the editing of the close-ups and the issue of knowledge. Van Helsing's growing knowledge is conveyed through editing, and it is this knowledge that pits him against Dracula.

Sample 2: Style Imposters

(Karen Kupka)

Read through the following passages carefully, using Word’s highlighter to note the distinctive features of the writer’s style. After you think you’ve grasped the stylistic differences between the two passages, try impersonating both authors. Pretend that you are Hemingway, and rewrite the excerpt from Carter’s  The Bloody Chamber  in your own inimitable style. When you’re done with that, transform yourself into Carter and elaborate on  A Moveable Feast .

Option 9: Reverse Outlines

Word also provides a range of outlining features that allow students to take a paper and convert it into an outline. An outline can help students to see the organizational structure of their papers in a “bare bones” format. Word also allows you to easily break down a student’s paper paragraph by paragraph and create a reverse outline exercise. This type of reverse outline allows students to visualize their paper’s organization as it is—and as they want it to be.

Sample Exercise: Reverse Outline

Step 1: Read the following paper. As you finish each paragraph, type out what you think the most important idea (in other words, the thesis) of the paragraph is. What is the general claim of the paragraph? Be sure to write out the thesis in a single, grammatically correct sentence.

Despite appearances, I believe that Imogene & Marya's friendship is not the most important thing in Joyce Carol Oates's story, "Theft." No character in the story has as important a role as Marya, but her friendship with Imogene does not play the most important role in Marya's life. Therefore that friendship cannot occupy the most important part of the story. While this friendship concerned Marya a lot, she eventually discovered that other things--her work and especially her writing--played a much more important role in her life. Marya gave up her friendship with Imogene because it took up too much time, time in which she could do more important things like writing. Marya saw writing as the most important thing in her life because writing overcame the destructive effects of time, while friendship just passed the time.

THESIS OF 1st PARAGRAPH:

It's hard to say exactly why Marya wanted to be Imogene's friends, but whatever the reason was, it wasn't the most important thing in Marya's life. Marya of course didn't initiate the friendship. Imogene pursued her. Marya never planned to be Imogene's friend; it happened to her like an accident. But Marya had some curiosity towards Imogene. Before Imogene ever approached her, Marya found herself staring "at the blonde girl in her political science class" who wore "a handsome camel's hair coat" and "an engagement ring with a large square-cut diamond" (476). This attraction, however, didn't seem to have any reason, or at least any particular importance. Marya throughout the story stared at a lot of people, but doesn't end up friends with any of them, except Imogene. Again I would say the friendship depended more on Imogene than Marya.

THESIS OF 2nd PARAGRAPH:

Though her relation with Imogene confused her for a while, Marya came to realize that work held more importance for her. "It occurred to her with a chilling certitude that every moment not consciously devoted to her work was an error, a blunder" (487). Marya worried constantly whether she did enough work. This didn't mean her work at the library. If anything, she regretted the time her job took from her. What worried her was schoolwork. She wanted to work hard at it. She even enjoyed it. But fear motivated her as well. She thought nothing mattered as much as success, even her own health. She felt that only "one's personal accomplishment" (493) mattered in life. In the story two kinds of accomplishment mean the most to Marya: school and writing. As I will explain later, because of the problem time created in her life, writing proves more important than anything else.

THESIS OF 3rd PARAGRAPH:

What created this preference from writing over schoolwork was her attitude toward time. The idea of time kind of scared her. In fact, Marya got quite hung up on the idea of time. "Time is the element in which we exist...We are either borne along by it, or drowned in it" (487). Here Marya reveals her fear that time would destroy her. But she thought that time could help her as well, if she did things right & worked hard. She asked herself, "Wasn't time the precious element that would carry her along to her salvation" (481)? Marya obsessed over the destructive effects of time. Her thoughts about the photographs of the old athletes express her feelings:

Another rowing team. Hopeful young men, standing so straight and tall; their costumes slightly comical; their haircuts bizarre. An air of team spirit, hearty optimism, doom (481).

Marya thinks of doom when she sees this picture because the picture reminds her that those men eventually died. I think Marya expresses this sense of doom in other places in the story as well, like when Phyllis's mother and sister came to clean out Phyllis's room: "And then the waters close over your head.--This phrase ran through Marya's head repeatedly" (491). Marya is thinking her about the doom that overcame Phyllis: doom comes like a flood, then washes you away into oblivion. Marya's obsession over this phrase is a sign that she considered this more than just Phyllis's problem. It was a personal problem for Marya too, because the source of the problem was time itself, something Marya couldn't escape. I believe Marya believes that "doom" was another word for "time."

THESIS OF 4th PARAGRAPH:

The first problem Marya experiences with the problem of time comes from not having enough of it, so she gets rid of Imogene in order to have more time for work. I think the writing was on the wall from the very beginning of their relationship. In the coffee house with Imogene's friends, when Marya thought she "should have been elsewhere" (481), that other place was back at her room or in the library working. She always felt that "she hadn't...time for 'wasting' on people" (478). In her journal she writes the following words on the subject of friendship: "She hadn't time...she hadn't energy for something so...ephemeral" (483). This last quote points out what really bothered Marya about friendship, that it isn't permanent. Eventually she thought conversations with anyone, whether Imogene or not, wasted her time.

THESIS OF 5th PARAGRAPH:

This sense of impending doom scares Marya, but she has a game plan. Just after she thinks the thoughts about the rowing team, she decides "she really should leave...she shouldn't be here" (481), because she feels this same doom closing in on her, and feels that only through work can she escape it. And the work that could save her is writing. Without writing, she's doomed to destruction like the rowers. But if she could become a writer, she'd have an indestructible existence. We know she believes this when she says "a writer's authentic self...lay in his writing and not his life; it was the landscape of the imagination that endured, that was really real" (474). By becoming a writer she too could have an "authentic self" that "endured." People would read her books long after she'd gone. People would know her "authentic self" long after the end of her "life." So what work she puts into writing is work toward eternity, while what work she puts into friendship is, as she says of sex, "as good a way as any of passing the time" (499). But Marya doesn't want to just pass the time. Marya's quotation of Thoreau expressed her need to avoid such frivolity: "How can anyone kill time without injuring Eternity?" (487)

Step 2: Retype each thesis statement below: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) What you have here is a reverse outline of the paper. It is called "reverse" because the outline was written after the paper was written. Based on this reverse outline, evaluate the argument of the paper by answering the following questions:

Was there a clear claim for the whole paper stated in the first paragraph?

How did the subsequent subordinate claims support the main claim? In other words, based on your reverse outline, describe how the supporting points that each paragraph brought out supported the main claim for the paper?

Do you get a sense of the progression in the subordinate claims? In other words, can you see how the supporting points follow one from the other?

Step 3: Pick out one paragraph from the paper to examine in further detail.

How has the writer signaled the transition from the previous paragraph to this one?

Evaluate the development & support of the paragraph. How did the details presented support the general claim of this paragraph?

How are the ideas within the paragraph related to each other? In other words, how has the writer tried to make the paragraph cohere, to make it flow together?

Has the writer considered possible objections to the general claim of the paragraph? How?

Option 10: Editing

Although the program has limitations, Word’s grammar and spell-check tools can assist students with the editing process. Moreover, because students can easily change their prose in Word, you can create exercises that allow them to explore a variety of options for word choice, syntax, and source integration.

Sample Exercise: Using Quotations

(Alison Tracy)

Make yourself a copy of this file called “quotex.doc” and be sure you are working in your own file. Go ahead and type your answers right into the prompts below.

The following exercise will give you some further practice in using quotations smoothly, effectively, and correctly in your own writing. Select a quote from the following passage to complete each sentence. First, read through the examples carefully.

I am not merely asserting that “We are not all alike.” Those who aren’t aware of that would not likely read this essay or anything like it. What I am saying is that generalizations from within are every bit as fragmenting as scrutiny from without. From my boyhood I have read and heard all manner of statistical facts and figures about black people. Really, they’ve told me very little about who I am, let alone who we are. We’re too big for that, and as individuals too complex. I’m not so sure we should ever find ourselves in the position of saying this general thing or that general thing about black people, expecting our words to discover the essence of our “true self-consciousness,” for when we do, we will be doing no more than talking about black people, talking around them, never quite getting it right, never pinning us down, never quite turning sound into substance, and never—much like the way sharks course around caged divers—ever able to sink our teeth into flesh. Reginald McKnight, p. 180

Try to use the quotes in several different ways throughout the exercise:

a) Use a signal phrase followed by a comma:

McKnight says,

McKnight claims,

b) Use your own  complete sentence, then a colon, followed by the quotation  (which must also be a complete sentence.) Notice that I’ve also left out a brief phrase by inserting the ellipses.

McKnight thinks that negative messages from his own black community are as bad as racist attitudes among other races: “generalizations from within are . . . as fragmenting as scrutiny from without” (180).

Work the quotation right into your own sentence  (and here I’ve used brackets to indicate a slight change in wording in his sentence):

He thinks that people who want to pin down “black people” as one thing or the other are like “sharks cours[ing] around caged divers” (180).

You need to be sure you are using the correct methods to add the quote to your sentence. Each sentence can be complete several ways; be sure that whatever way you choose, you use the correct signals and punctuation. You may add words or alter the prompt slightly.

1. McKnight doesn’t want us to think that he is just restating a cliché; he claims,

2. McKnight wants to show that statements made by other black people can be just as harmful as those made by white people:

3. He claims that all of the “facts and figures” he has heard don’t do much to explain his culture to him

4. McKnight wants us to see “black people” not just as a group, but

5. Trying to pin down “blackness” to a certain set of qualities doesn’t do justice to the complicated natures of black individuals

6. McKnight uses the image of sharks biting to explain how vicious people can be about each other

7. He doesn’t think words can ever explain our true selves

8. He doesn’t want us to continue the mistakes of the past

Option 11: Grading

Students can use Word to develop and modify evaluation rubrics. Creating such rubrics allows students to consider their audience’s expectations, and it gives them an active role in the grading process.

Sample Exercise: Grading Rubric

(Alison Mandaville)

Rationale:  In this exercise students use the  Insert Table  feature of Word to develop a grading rubric for essays which they will then apply to peer essays and, finally, to their own writing. Students work in groups at the computers to develop the rubric and then can either work in groups or alone to use the rubric to grade each other’s work. The nice thing about doing this on the computer is that students can then print out a copy which looks official and which all group members can read. In addition, the rubrics can be used later to project on the overhead for whole class discussion/modification. My students’ rubrics are fairly general, but you may also have students make rubrics that are very specific to a particular assignment/topic.

Spending the time making their own chart, agreeing on definitions and criteria for each score and then applying this rubric to their own work is a great way to both examine closely the elements of a good essay and begin to be able to systematically evaluate their own writing. For 104-5 students in particular, I think this exercise is useful in helpful empower students to evaluate their own work and begin to establish some control over their ability to understand and improve their grades. The group aspect reinforces all those good group skills and makes what could be a fairly dry exercise much more fun. There can be some tension around grading each other, so I retain final authority in assigning grades, but find that their grading gets more and more effective the more they do it until sometimes I have few changes to make.

The Exercise:  The easiest way to create a table in Word is to use the “Insert Table” icon on the pictorial toolbar. First place you cursor in your document where you want the table to be. Then Left click on the icon that looks like a mini-table with a blue band at the top--the one without an Excel symbol on it. Hold down the mouse as you draw the size of your chart. When your chart is the size you want, release the mouse button, and the chart will drop in where your cursor was.

Students work together (one student creates the table and types in information OR everyone makes their own after agreeing on criteria) to label the chart (terms to define on one axis and scores on the other) and define the criteria for scoring an essay. The terms you ask them to define will depend on what you’ve been working on—you may ask them only to do one or two to start, adding another criteria with each assignment.

Students work to evaluate a draft of each other’s essays based on their own rubrics.

Large group discussion following the group exercise can help fill out individual groups’ charts and pinpoint areas of fuzziness re: writing criteria.

NOTE:  Resist the impulse to create the chart for the students because first, it’s good to know how to make a chart, and second, the terms you ask them to define, and the scale you ask them to use will become much more firmly entrenched if you have them set it all up.

Option 12: Reflection

At the end of an assignment sequence, you can ask create a short reflection exercise that allows students to reflect upon both their essay and the usefulness of activities in the sequence. Students can type their responses into the document and save the file to an evaluation folder.

Sample Exercise: Reflecting on the Writing Process

1. How did the process of writing this essay help you to develop as a cinema studies thinker and writer? Did comparing and contrasting two films give you any insight into patterns and shifts in the horror genre?

2. Which elements of your first draft (thesis paragraph, use of evidence, organization, etc.) did you revise most extensively? How have those revisions made the essay stronger?

3. If you could still revise your essay, what would you revise? Why?

4. Which aspects of the writing process for this essay did you find easy? Which did you find difficult? Why?

5. Please offer a grade for each of your peer reviewers, using the following scale and explaining to what extent each reviewer's comments helped you to revise.

Plus:  An extremely useful evaluation Check:  A mostly useful evaluation Minus:  Not very useful overall (perhaps not complete)

6. How did the process of reviewing other writers' work influence your revision process?

7. Was the flexibility of the peer critiquing method (paper, Word) useful? Do you have any suggestions for organizing the peer critique process for Essay #3?

8. Did issues discussed in the conference and my comments on your paper or Web site help you to revise your work? Why or why not?

9. Which activities and homework (responses, brainstorming sheet, discussion of lecture arguments and responses, in-class clip analyses and comparison presentation, essay workshop) did you find most and least helpful in writing your first draft? Why?

10. What types of activities and homework would you like to do in preparation for our next paper, an analytical essay that incorporates research?

Useful Advanced Features

Word is a powerful program with more features than it is possible to cover in a manual of this scope. However, the following table highlights some of the features available through Word 2007that are most useful to a writing classroom. More extensive information on how to use these features can be found in the on-line Word  Help  menu and in the sample exercises in this manual that make use of these features.

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Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Use the Editor in Word for Microsoft 365 (Updated)

By Erin Wright

This tutorial shows how to use the Editor in Word for Microsoft 365. The Editor is an update to the spelling and grammar check available in older versions of Word.

If you are using an older version of Word that doesn’t have an Editor button, please see my other tutorial “ How to Use the Spelling and Grammar Check in Microsoft Word .”

This tutorial covers five topics:

How to Select Grammar Issues and Refinements

How to run the editor, how to review the suggested edits, how to finish the edit, how to run a fresh edit.

Attention Mac Users: The Editor is available in Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac. The basic steps are similar to those shown here. However, the process of selecting grammar issues and refinements is different, so we will cover the Editor in Word for Mac in a separate tutorial.

This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 200 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel .

Are you looking for information about editing in Word with Track Changes instead of using the Editor? If so, visit “ How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word ” for a step-by-step tutorial covering ten editing tasks.

The Editor can check for over 150 grammar issues and refinements beyond spelling, including the following:

• hyphenation
• passive voice
• Oxford comma

All the grammar and refinement options are available in the Word Options dialog box. You should select from these options before running the Editor.

• Select the File tab in the ribbon.

• Select the Options tab in the Backstage view.

• Select the Proofing tab in the Word Options dialog box.

• Review the spelling and grammar options that affect how the Editor interacts with your document:

A. Ensure that Check spelling as you type and Mark grammar errors as you type are selected if you want issues to be marked in the text as you type.

B. Ensure that Check grammar and refinements in the Editor Pane is selected to include grammar and refinements.

C. (Optional) Ensure that Show readability statistics is selected to show your readability statistics after running the Editor.

D. Ensure that Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide grammar errors in this document only are not selected.

• Select Grammar & Refinements or Grammar in the Writing Style menu. (Most users will want to choose Grammar & Refinements because it offers more options.)

• Select the Settings button.

• Select or deselect options from the Grammar Settings dialog box.

Defining each grammar option is beyond the scope of this tutorial. However, the Microsoft Office Support website provides a detailed explanation for many of the options sorted by language.

• Select the OK button to close the Grammar Settings dialog box.

• Select the OK button to close the Word Options dialog box.

Now that you have decided how you want Word to proof your document, you can run the Editor.

• Select the Home tab in the ribbon.

• Select the Editor button. (The Editor button is also available in the Proofing group on the left end of the Review tab.)

The Editor Pane will appear on the right side of your screen.

• Review your Editor Score. This score will change based on choices you make within the Editor Pane. Therefore, you may choose to disregard this number while working with the Editor.

• (Optional) Select a level of formality from the drop-down menu.
• Formal —The Editor will apply all the grammar and refinement rules, resulting in the most recommendations.
• Professional —The Editor will apply most of the grammar and refinement rules, resulting in fewer recommendations than the Formal option.
• Casual —The Editor will apply the fewest number of grammar and refinement rules, resulting in the fewest recommendations.

Your Editor Score will change based on your choice of formality.

• Select the Editor Score (see figure 12) to review each of the recommendations starting from the current placement of your cursor. Or, skip to step 4 to review by category.
• Select the Corrections or Refinements category you want to review. The available categories will depend on your selections in the Grammar Settings dialog box (see figure 7).

Categories with a checkmark don’t have any suggestions.

• Choose a suggestion to change the individual spelling error.

Or, open the drop-down menu for the suggestion and select Change All to change every instance of the spelling error.

You can also choose (a) Ignore Once to ignore that spelling one time, (b) Ignore All to ignore that spelling every time it appears in the document, or (c) Add to Dictionary to add the word with its current spelling to your custom dictionary .

If the Editor is unable to provide any spelling suggestions, it will still let you add the word to your custom dictionary, ignore the word once, or ignore all instances of the word.

After you select or ignore a suggestion, the Editor will automatically move to the next issue in that category or return you to the main view to chose a new category.

Grammar and Refinement Issues

• Review each grammar or refinement issue. In some cases, the Editor will suggest a way to rewrite the text.

Or, select (a) Ignore Once to ignore that instance of the issue or (b) Don’t check for this issue to stop checking for that type of issue in the rest of the document.

Open the drop-down menu above the text box if you want additional information about the issue.

Pro Tip: The navigation arrows on the right side of the pane let you move forward and backward to issues you have not yet addressed. The arrow on the left side will return you to the Editor’s main view.

The Editor Pane also provides options to search the web for similar text and give feedback to Microsoft about the Editor.

If you included readability statistics in your proofing options in the Word Options dialog box (see figure 4), the Readability Statistics dialog box will appear after you have accepted or ignored all the Editor’s suggestions.

• Select the OK button to close the Readability Statistics dialog box.

• Select the OK button in the dialog box stating that you have finished reviewing the Editor’s suggestions.

If you have updated your text since running the Editor, you may want to run a fresh check.

• Select the File tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
• Select the Options tab in the Backstage view (see figure 2).
• Select the Proofing tab in the Word Options dialog box (see figure 3).
• Select the Recheck Document button.

• Select the Yes button in the dialog box stating that the new spelling and grammar check (Editor) will recheck issues that you ignored during the last check.

• Select the OK button to close the Word Options dialog box (see figure 9).

Follow the steps in the How to Run the Editor section above to recheck your document.

Important Note: Microsoft plans to continually add new features to Word for Microsoft 365. Therefore, your version of Word may have different features than those shown here.

Related Resources

How to Change the Proofing Language in Microsoft Word

How to Use the Clipboard in Microsoft Word

How to Edit Your Custom Dictionary in Microsoft Word

How to Create an Exclusion Dictionary in Microsoft Word

Updated April 29, 2023

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Writing > How AI can help proofread and edit your essays

How AI can help proofread and edit your essays

Don’t let little mistakes hold you back from getting a better grade. Learn how you can use AI to help you proofread and edit your essays.

Before submitting your essay, having a second set of eyes to catch any typos or grammatical errors is invaluable. If human help isn’t available, AI can step in to proofread or edit your work, offering instant feedback even under tight deadlines . Take a look at the different ways you can use AI for essay editing.

Ask AI to help you identify typos or grammatical errors

It’s easy for the human mind to skim over obvious typos and grammar errors. AI can help you identify these spelling mistakes and grammar issues so you can put some professional polish on your paper. If you’re aware of a specific issue that you struggle with in your essays, you can ask AI to proofread specifically on those errors. Copy and paste your essay into your favorite AI platform and try one of these prompts:

• Can you identify any typos in this paper and explain why they are incorrect?
• I often put commas in the wrong place. Can you identify any incorrect commas in my essay and tell me why they’re incorrect?
• Can you help me identify any incorrect homophones in my essay?

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Ask AI to help you refine your sentences

Writing clearly is important for all forms of writing, but it’s especially important for academic works. AI can help you edit your essays so that your sentences are easy to understand. Copy and paste your essay into an AI platform and try these prompts to refine its sentences:

• Can you find passive sentences in my essay and explain how to rewrite them actively?
• My teacher is a stickler for dangling modifiers . Can you point out any dangling modifiers in my essay?
• Are there any sentence fragments in my essay?

Ask AI for style guide assistance

If your instructor has asked you to follow a specific style guide , they may deduct points if your essay doesn’t follow it. Try these prompts to get some essay editing help:

• Can you review if book titles are correctly italicized according to the Chicago Manual of Style, and check for other style-specific issues?
• My essay is supposed to follow MLA format. Can you identify any parts of my essay that don’t follow MLA format ?
• How should I format quotes in APA format ?

Ask AI to fact-check your work

AI can help you identify incorrect facts that could impact your final grade. AI can also provide sources that you can use to back up your work. Try these prompts in your preferred AI platform to fact-check your work:

• Are the biographical facts I included about Jane Austen in my essay correct?
• Can you make sure all the dates that I listed in my essay are accurate?
• Can you confirm that the citations in my essay are from peer-reviewed and reputable sources ?

Getting the best proofreading and editing results from AI

When you use AI to proofread an essay, you’ll get better results when you provide it with as much context about the essay as possible. For example, you should include your teacher’s essay instructions so that the AI tool knows what to look for. If the teacher gave you their grading rubric, you should also give it to the AI tool so that it can provide even stronger proofreading and editing recommendations.

While AI can significantly aid in proofreading and editing, remember to use it responsibly, especially in academic settings. If you’re interested in learning more about AI, see if you can use AI to draft an essay for you .

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Educators Technology

Innovative EdTech for teachers, educators, parents, and students

Streamline Your Grading Process with Google Docs’ Compare Documents Feature

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: January 31, 2024

Google Docs, a widely adopted tool in the realm of education and beyond, boasts a plethora of features designed to streamline the collaborative process of document creation and editing. Among these features, the ‘Compare Documents’ function stands out as a particularly innovative and practical tool, especially for educators and students alike.

As an educator with a passion for integrating technology into the classroom, I’ve found the ‘Compare Document’ feature to be a game-changer. It offers a straightforward way to juxtapose two documents with just a few clicks, allowing teachers to meticulously compare essays and track revisions.

This is not just a trivial feature—it represents a significant time-saver in the grading process. Imagine effortlessly pinpointing the changes made between drafts, facilitating a more comprehensive and nuanced feedback process. This tool doesn’t merely compare; it reveals the progression of a student’s thought and writing process, offering invaluable insights into their learning journey.

But the utility of this feature isn’t confined to the teacher’s desk. Students, too, can harness the power of ‘Compare Documents’ to monitor their own progress. It allows them to keep a meticulous record of the changes they’ve made to a document, essentially capturing the evolution of their writing style over time.

This can be particularly enlightening for students, helping them to visualize their growth and identify areas for improvement in real time. Moreover, when it comes to collaborative projects, this tool becomes an essential asset, enabling students to document new edits and seamlessly share feedback with their peers, fostering a collaborative and constructive learning environment.

Accessing this feature is a breeze. It’s built right into the Google Docs interface. To get started, simply open the Google document you wish to use as your ‘base document.’ Then, navigate to the top toolbar, click on ‘Tools,’ and select ‘Compare Documents’ from the dropdown menu.

From there, the process is intuitive: click on ‘My Drive’ to select the comparison document from your Google Drive. It’s worth noting that the person whose name you choose will be displayed as the author of the suggested edits in the ‘comparison output file.’ Once you’ve made your selections, click ‘compare,’ and watch as Google Docs efficiently generates a detailed comparison of the two documents.

Courtesy of Google

The Benefits of the ‘Compare Documents’ Feature

Here are some of the key advantages The ‘Compare Documents’ feature in Google Docs offers, especially in an academic setting:

• Efficient Feedback and Grading : For educators, the ability to compare versions of a document streamlines the grading process. It enables quick identification of changes and additions, making it easier to provide targeted feedback. This not only saves precious time but also enhances the quality of feedback by focusing on specific revisions.
• Tracking Student Progress : This feature offers a clear, visual representation of a student’s progress over time. Educators can compare early drafts with final submissions to gauge improvement, understand a student’s writing process, and identify areas where further support might be needed.
• Enhancing Collaborative Work : In group projects, ‘Compare Documents’ proves invaluable. It allows team members to view individual contributions, ensuring transparency and accountability. This feature fosters a collaborative environment where feedback and constructive criticism can be shared efficiently.
• Documenting Writing Evolution : For students, seeing how their work evolves from the first draft to the final submission is profoundly insightful. It encourages self-reflection and self-assessment, empowering students to take ownership of their learning process.
• Facilitating Peer Review : The tool is perfect for peer review sessions. Students can compare their work with that of their peers, learn from each other’s strengths, identify common pitfalls, and collectively enhance their writing skills.
• Minimizing Plagiarism : By comparing documents, teachers can effectively spot similarities with other texts, which can be a deterrent to plagiarism. It’s a way to uphold academic integrity while teaching students the value of original work and proper citation.
• Ease of Access and Use : Being integrated into Google Docs, the feature is incredibly user-friendly and accessible. There’s no need for additional software or complicated processes, making it a seamless part of the digital classroom.
• Time-stamped Revisions : This aspect of the feature helps in understanding the sequence of edits and contributions, which can be particularly useful in project management and meeting deadlines.
• Building a Portfolio : Students can create a portfolio of their work, showcasing their improvement and the feedback received. This can be a valuable resource for one-on-one meetings or parent-teacher conferences.

Related: Here is How to Insert a Page Break in Google Docs

Concluding thoughts

For educators, ‘Compare Documents’ is akin to having an extra set of eyes, offering a detailed and nuanced view of each student’s writing journey. It’s a tool that respects the uniqueness of each learner’s path, providing tailored feedback that recognizes their individual growth and challenges. For students, it’s more than a writing aid; it’s a mirror reflecting their progress, encouraging self-reflection, and fostering a sense of achievement as they see their ideas and skills evolve.The ‘Compare Documents’ feature in Google Docs definitely stands out as a bridge connecting ideas, facilitating clearer understanding, and nurturing a culture of shared learning and collective growth.

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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