Viewing E-mailed Comments
When you work via e-mail, the tutor will make comments using Microsoft Word’s built-in commenting feature, called “Track Changes.” This page will give you a visual tutorial on how to display the comments the tutor has sent to you and use them to revise your document.
Note: the instructions are shown for a Mac, but the steps are the same in the Windows version of Microsoft Word.
Figure 1
First open Microsoft Word and then open the commented document the tutor sent you. If the comments do not automatically display, you will want to click on the VIEW menu and select Markup, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
After turning the markup on, all the comments the tutor has made should appear on your screen. Typically these appear as little red boxes connected to your text by faint, dotted lines. The screen will look something like Figure 2 (click for a larger view).
Each comment box either marks a spot where the tutor has changed something about your document or where the tutor has left a comment for you to read. When you click on one of the boxes, the line connecting it to a specific spot in your paper becomes highlighted, so you know which spot the box refers to.
Each box also has controls on its top edge. These allow you to either delete, accept, or reject the changes and comments the tutor has made. A closeup view of these controls can be seen in Figure 3.
When you turn on the markup, normally it also turns on the Reviewing Toolbar, which helps you control how you view the tutor’s comments. If it does not appear automatically, click on the VIEW menu and then select Toolbars > Reviewing, as shown in Figure 4.
If you run into any snags or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the tutor for help.