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Right like a Writer with Microsoft Word Grammar Options

Filed under: Business

In Right like a Writer, I mentioned how a list of items should include a comma after every item except the last, including after and or or, and how you should only use one space after a period, rather than two. All versions of Microsoft Word can be configured to monitor for both of these using the grammar settings built in to the application; it will identify violations during regular grammar checks. Here's how to enable these options in MSWord 2007:

Access Word Options
Access Word Options by clicking the Office Button in Microsoft Word (the Office logo in the top-left corner of the window), and click on the Word Options button in the lower-right corner of the menu popup. The Word Options window should display.
Access Proofing Settings
In the Word Options window, access proofing settings by clicking Proofing on the left-side navigation.
Access Grammar Settings
Once you are in Proofing settings, you will find Grammar Settings by clicking the Settings... button next to Writing Style. Writing Style can be found under the Proofing section titled When correcting spelling and grammar in Word.
Use Only One Space
In the Grammar Settings window, the number of spaces after a period is controlled by the option titled Spaces required between sentences. This is set to don't check by default, but options for 1 space and 2 spaces are available. Set this option to 1.
Include a Comma Before the Last Item
Also in the Grammar Settings window, check for commas after and and or through the field titled Comma required before last list item. This is also set to don't check by default, though always and never are available options. Set this option to always.

Additionally, the style checks available through Word's Grammar Settings can also be very helpful. I prefer the "Grammar and Style" writing style option, as it enables all of the style checks. I encourage you to investigate all of these options, as well as enable the comma and sentence options, as they will help you write right like a writer.