Spelling and Grammar settings to use for APA style in
MS Word
One
caveat before beginning: no spell checker or grammar checker is infallible or
omniscient. Think of each recommendation given by both as a possible error but
one that you must confirm. Some things pointed out as errors may not be
errors but you are the only one who can make that determination.
After clicking Tools/Options and choosing the Spelling and Grammar tab, make sure that your dialog box has checks in the following places:
Under
Spelling:
√ Check spelling as you type
√ Always suggest corrections
√ Ignore words in upper case
√ Ignore words with numbers
√ Ignore Internet and file addresses
Under
Grammar:
√ Check grammar as you type
√ Check grammar with spelling
√ Show readability statistics (for the general audience paper)
Then click the Settings (button on the above dialog box). Make the following choices:
Under Require:
Comma required before last list item -à always
Punctuation required with quotes à inside
Spaces required between sentences à 1
Under Grammar:
Check every box.
Under Style:
Check every box
Then click OK and click on Recheck Document in the earlier dialog box. Now, every time you use Word, it should come up with these settings. I am not sure how this will act in the computer labs but the settings should stay put on your personal computer.
This document was developed by:
by Dr. Rick Froman, Chair
Professor of Psychology
2000 W. University