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Beyond Spell Check: Why Peer Review Tools are Essential

While autocorrect tools, spelling and grammar checkers are very helpful, each tool has its limitations in catching mistakes. For example, the capitalization and spell checkers do not offer suggestions for certain proper nouns. Often, spelling and grammar check tools do not identify punctuation errors.

Therefore, peer review of your written work is recommended. Family members or friends may catch errors that the technology tools did not.

So, share your writing electronically with family members or peers. Request that they add a comments to areas that need correction or revision. Specifically, ask them to use the peer review tools and check following writing conventions:

  • Spelling
  • Grammar
  • Run-on sentences or sentence fragments
  • Punctuation
  • Capitalization

The benefits of peer review for catching writing convention errors:

  • Identify errors you may have overlooked due to familiarity with the text
  • Catch recurring or common writing convention errors that you have consistently made
  • Reviewers can spot capitalization and punctuation mistakes

To begin, log into your free Microsoft account and free Google account.

Microsoft: Peer review tools

Share button in Word Online

  1. To Share a document electronically, press the Share button in the upper right corner.
  2. In the pop-up window, type an email address (or type a name, if the email address is in your contacts or your organization’s directory).
  3. Type a message kindly asking for feedback on your writing.
  4. Press Send.

Microsoft Support article: Share and collaborate in Word for Windows

Insert Comment in Word Online

Use a comment box in Word Online to type suggestions for edits.

  1. Select text.
  2. In the pop-up window, click New Comment. Or in the menu, press the Insert tab then New Comment.
  3. Type in the comment box.
  4. Press the Post Comment button (paper airplane button). Repeat steps 1-4.
  5. To view all the comments, select the Review tab. Click Show Comments. Now, you have all the main concepts stacked in the side bar to review.

Microsoft Support article: Insert comments in a document

Highlight text in Word Online

The comment feature in Word does not highlight the text corresponding to the comment. You can use the Highlighter in Word to highlight the areas suggested for revision.

  1. Use the mouse to select text.
  2. Press the Highlight button (marker icon)
  3. Use the drop-down arrow on the Highlight button to change the highlighter color, if desired.

Microsoft Support Article: Highlight your text

In Microsoft Word, text is highlighted in two places. Two comment boxes appear to the right of the document window.
Commenting and highlighting in Word for peer editing

Option to track changes

  1. Select the Review tab.
  2. Click Track Changes and make a selection.

The options for tracking changes are more limited for Word Online than the options in the paid versions.

Microsoft Support Article: Track changes in Word

Google: Peer review tools

Share button in Docs

  1. To Share a document electronically, press the Share button in the upper right corner.
  2. In the pop-up window, type an email address (or type a name if the email address is in your contacts or organization’s directory).
  3. Type a message kindly asking for feedback on your writing.
  4. Press Send.

Insert Comment in Docs

Insert a comment box in Google Docs to type suggestions for edits.

  1. Select text. The text will remain highlighted.
  2. Right-click and select Comment. Or in the menu, click the Insert tab then Comment.
  3. Now, type in the comment box.
  4. Press the Comment button when finished typing. Repeat steps 1 -4.
  5. All of the Comments will be stacked to the side of the document.

Google Help article: Use comments & action items

In Google Docs, text is highlighted in two places. Two comment boxes appear to the right of the document window.
Comment feature in Docs for peer editing

Suggesting Edits in Docs

A peer editor can suggest changes to a document without changing the original text. If you approve of the suggestion, you can choose to make the change.

Google Help article: Suggest edits in Google Docs

In Google Docs, words are outlined in the document as well as a window with suggested edits.
Suggest edits feature in Docs

View the revision history

  1. Click File.
  2. Select Version History and then See Version History.

Google Help article: Find what’s changed in a file

In Google Docs, words are outlined in the document as well as a window showing revision history.
Version history feature in Docs
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Additional assistance with writing conventions

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