Tracking Changes

The first question I ask any client is the same: “Would you like me to use Track Changes, or just make the changes without tracking?” So far, one client has asked me not to use it. Most people want to see all the work I’ve done, and to be honest, I want to see it, too. It’s a lot easier for me to keep track.

Track Changes is a Word function. If used, backspacing, the letters you backspace will still appear, but turn red and have a line scored across them. if you add anything, it will also be red and underlined. You can also use an “Accept all changes” function, which will automatically make all the corrections, deleting the words and punctuation crossed out and leaving the corrections to look like the rest of the text. Track Changes allows me to see what I’ve corrected, and it proves the work I’ve put into the document for my client. All of it says to the client “Here’s all the changes I made”.

Of course, Track Changes isn’t a magic fix to see every mistake. The work is still there. But it really makes me feel like my clients can look at my work and see that I have put in the work for them.

Homonym Confusion

This is one of the most common mistakes in the English language. We have a lot of words that sound the same and look the same, but have totally different meanings. Most of them also have different spellings, which makes them a nightmare to differentiate. Common mistakes are between:

“There” and “Their” (One is to pinpoint a specific place, and the other is a possessive for a group of people – something that belongs to them).

“Too” and “To” (One is used to add something to a point, be it a person or a fact, and the other is used before a location).

and “Your” and “You’re”. (One is the possessive, something belongs to you, and the other is a contraction, meaning “You are”).

I’ve made some of those mistakes as a student, but I was always able to correct them before anyone else saw them. It’s very easy to make those mistakes, especially with “To” and “Too” – just don’t let your finger rest on the “O” key too long! It’s also something spellcheck can’t see, as you’ve spelled the word correctly – it’s just not the word you wanted. But of course, don’t worry too much. You know the spelling. Just give your work a good check to make sure no mistaken homonyms have crept in. They’re just as easy to fix, as they are to make.