How to Use Your Word Processor

Inserting Comments

Many word processing programs allow you to add comments to a document. These comments are similar to the types of notes you might write in the margins of a printed document, but they are stored electronically as part of the document. Comments can include your thoughts about the ideas expressed in a sentence, or they might provide your assessment of an argument.

To create a comment in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:

1. Select a passage of text or place your cursor where you want the comment to appear.
2. Click on the INSERT > COMMENT menu command.
3. A Comment box will open. Type your comment in this space. If you are using a recent version of Word (XP or later), the box will open in the margin. If you are using an older version of Word, the box will open at the bottom of the page.

Note: If you are using your own copy of Word, the comment will show your name or initials. You can control this by changing the user information in the OPTIONS > TOOLS menu (in Windows) or the OPTIONS > PREFERENCES menu (on the Mac).