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Introduction
With over 1.2 billion users,1 Microsoft Word is arguably the 

most commonly used word processing and editing software 

throughout the world.

 Medical writers use Microsoft Word daily for a variety of 

tasks, including manuscript preparation, proofing of patient-

facing public health documents, medical presentations, and 

more. They are proficient with basic functionalities of Word, 

but they may not be aware of more advanced features.

 Here, we provide our best tips for producing better writ-

ing using Microsoft Word. These tips apply both to the cur-

rent version of Word included in Microsoft Office 365 and 

the standalone version currently available, called Microsoft 

Word 2019, which is part of Microsoft Office 2019.

Monisha’s Tip: Use Advanced Proofing Features  
of Microsoft Word
Clear and impactful medical writing requires education and 

experience in medicine or health, writing skills and talent, 

attention to detail, and passion. Microsoft Word’s little-

known proofing features can be another key to producing 

great copy. Microsoft Word’s hidden proofing features take a 

bit of time to find, but they are well worth the effort.

 It was many years into my medical writing career that 

I learned about Microsoft Word’s advanced proofing fea-

tures. That is because these features are “hidden” and are not 

enabled by default.

 Did you know that Microsoft Word can alert you to 

jargon, simpler language, and passive voice? This Microsoft 

Word proofing review will make suggestions for you to 

accept or ignore. Keep in mind the style guide for your target 

publication or for your target audience. For example, some-

times passive voice may be acceptable in medical and sci-

entific writing; if the proofing review suggests you have used 

passive voice, consider whether it is appropriate and accept 

or reject Microsoft Word’s suggestion.

 I run a complete proofing check on all of my writing 

products. Here is how to get started:

Monisha Arya, MD1; Sheeva Azma, MS2/ 1Independent Medical Writer & Editor, Arya Communications, 
Houston, TX; 2Independent Science Writer & Editor, Fancy Comma, LLC, Oklahoma City, OK

Little-Known Tips for Using Microsoft Word  
for Clear Writing

PRACTICAL MATTERS

Monisha’s Little-Known Tips to Uncover Hidden Proofing 

Features in Microsoft Word

Open a blank document in Microsoft Word.

1. Go to File and select “Options” at the very bottom of  

the menu.

2. Under Word Options, select “Proofing” (Figure 1).

3. Go the section entitled, “When correcting spelling and 

grammar in Word.”

4. Ensure that all boxes are checked.

5. For Writing Style, select the drop-down option for 

“Grammar & Refinements” (This may also be listed as 

“Grammar & More”; in Word 2010, it is listed as “Grammar 

and Style”).

6. Click on “Settings…” (Here is where a lot of the proofing 

features live!) (Figure 2 on next page).

2

3

4

5 6

Figure 1. Microsoft Word’s proofing options.



80    AMWA Journal / V36 N2 / 2021 / amwa.org        

7. There are over 100 (!) features listed! I select ALL of them. 

Remember that the style guide of your target publication 

or audience can help guide which “suggested” changes you 

should accept after Microsoft Word performs the review.

8. Click “OK” to save changes.

9. Click “Check Document” (Figure 3) to allow Microsoft Word 

to do a new review (This may also be listed as “Recheck 

Document.”).

 After clicking on “Check Document,” another dialog box may 

appear asking you if you wish to reset the Microsoft Word spell-

ing and grammar checker and apply the new settings. You will 

need to click “Yes” here.

 There is another way to get to the Proofing features in 

Microsoft Word. You may also see the Editor icon in the Review 

panel of your version of Microsoft Word (Figure 4). You can click 

on this button, and then click “Settings.” Then, follow the steps 

above starting at number 6.

 Of course, the Microsoft Word proofing feature is not perfect, 

and will not find all elements that you could (or should) refine 

to make your writing clearer and impactful. The proofing feature 

also sometimes recommends changes that you should not make 

in the context of your document. I have found that the proofing 

feature still misses some grammar or syntax mistakes. Using the 

feature is a start, and you may need to make additional refine-

ments to add a human element to proofing.

Sheeva’s Tip: Use Microsoft Word’s “Read Aloud” 
Feature
I am always learning new things, even after using Microsoft Word 

and other Office suite products for over 2 decades. Recently, I 

learned that Microsoft Office 2019 has a “Read Aloud” function 

which will read your Word file out loud. This can be useful in 

editing if you perhaps need to do a quick pass to catch errors in 

the text as it is being read aloud. With the Read Aloud function, 

you can sit back as Microsoft reads through the document.

 Our brains use different cognitive processes to read text 

from a page compared with listening to text being read out loud. 

A study out of the University of Perugia in Italy suggests that 

actively listening to text being read out loud may lead to more 

“intense and deeper information processing,” according to a 

report by the British Broadcasting Corporation.2

Sheeva’s Tip to Reveal the Read Aloud Feature in Microsoft Word

The Read Aloud function of Microsoft Word 2019 can be found in 

the Review tab (Figure 5).

 When you click the Read Aloud button, a sidebar pops up 

with controls shown in Figure 6. 

Figure 2. Microsoft Word’s “Grammar and Refinements” menu  
bar contains all of the little-known proofing features of the  
popular software.

7

8

Figure 3. Once you select your desired proofing options, remember 
to click “Check Document” to apply them to your file.

Figure 4. Clicking the “Editor” button in the Review tab of  
Microsoft Word’s menu bar is an easy way to access these little-
known proofing options.

PRACTICAL MATTERS



      AMWA Journal / V36 N2 / 2021 / amwa.org    81

 The settings icon allows you to select from different 

reading voices and change reading speed. If you are, like 

me, using the American English version of Microsoft Word, 

you can choose from several reading voices, including 2 

male voices (Microsoft David and Microsoft Mark) and a 

female voice (Microsoft Zira).

 Microsoft Word’s Read Aloud feature can be useful to 

quickly review a document for errors. When you catch an 

error, you can pause Read Aloud, make the changes, move 

your cursor back to where you want to start reading, and 

use the controls to restart Read Aloud.

 There are a couple of disadvantages to the Read Aloud 

function. One downside of the Read Aloud function is that, 

if you try to type or make edits to the document while it is 

being read, you risk accidentally deleting text as the cursor 

tracks the text being read. You must first exit or pause Read 

Aloud mode before making any changes to the document.

 Another downside of using Read Aloud is that it does 

not work seamlessly with the Track Changes feature in Word. 

When there are tracked changes in your document, the Read 

Aloud function simply reads the text that is on the page, 

whether it has been modified (deleted using Track Changes) 

or not. So, it is best to use a final copy of your text that does 

not have tracked changes in order to achieve the best results 

with Read Aloud.

Figure 5. The “Review” tab contains the Read Aloud option in 
Microsoft Word.

Figure 6. Microsoft Word’s Read Aloud function button controls. From left 
to right, they are Back, Play/Pause, Forward, Settings, and Exit.

LEARN MORE

Jump-start your career
in regulatory writing.

www.amwa.org/online_learning

 We hope that learning about these little-known tools will 

help you optimize your use of Microsoft Word and help you 

write more clearly.

Author declaration and disclosures: Sheeva Azma owns Microsoft 
stock. The authors note no additional commercial associations that may 
pose a conflict of interest in relation to this article.

Author contact: aryacampaigns@gmail.com

References
1. Callaham J. There are now 1.2 billion Office users and 60 million Office 

365 commercial customers. Windows Central website. Published 2016. 

Accessed January 1, 2021. https://www.windowscentral.com/there-

are-now-12-billion-office-users-60-million-office-365-commercial-

customers

2. Hardach S. Why you should read this out loud. BBC website. Published 

2020. Accessed January 1, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/future/

article/20200917-the-surprising-power-of-reading-aloud

PRACTICAL MATTERS

https://www.windowscentral.com/there-are-now-12-billion-office-users-60-million-office-365-commercial-customers
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200917-the-surprising-power-of-reading-aloud
http://www.amwa.org/online_learning



