6.3. Checking Grammar and StyleWord's grammar and style tools work almost exactly like the spelling tools. You have the same choice between background checking and manual checking. If you check grammar and style in the background while you type, word puts a wavy green line under suspect sentences and phrases. If you check grammar manually, you view problem sentences in the Spelling and Grammar dialog box (Figure 6-10).
You may feel that Word's grammar police are a little too strict for your personal style of writing. If that's the case, you can tinker with the settings (Office button Word Options Proofing). Here are some of the options you toggle on or off in the Grammar Settings box (Figure 6-4):
Style checking is even more subjective than grammar checking. If you feel there ain't no reason Microsoft should meddle when you say you're real mad at the congressman, you can turn this feature off. You can tweak the Style checking settings in the Word Options dialog box (Office button Word Options Proofing). For example, the "When correcting spelling and grammar in Word section has a Writing Style drop-down menu with two options: Grammar & Style or Grammar Only. If you choose Grammar & Style, Word hunts down problems such as clich ƒ s, passive sentences, and run-on sentences. It's always your choice though; turn on the suggestions that you find helpful and that match your own personal style. |