Word has more proofreading tools built in than most people ever use. Here's how to actually get to them, plus where they stop being enough.
Go to the Review tab and click Editor (or press F7). This opens a side panel that scores your document and groups issues into categories: Corrections (spelling, grammar), Refinements (clarity, conciseness, formality), and more on Microsoft 365 plans. Click any category to jump through each flagged issue one at a time.
By default, Word underlines issues while you write — red for spelling, blue or gold for grammar and style. Right-click an underlined word or phrase for a quick-fix menu. To adjust sensitivity, go to File → Options → Proofing, where you can toggle specific grammar rule categories on or off.
Under the Review tab, Read Aloud has Word read your document back to you. This catches things visual proofreading misses — awkward rhythm, repeated words, sentences that are technically correct but don't actually flow.
Word won't tell you that you spelled a character's name two different ways, or that you switched from "email" to "e-mail" halfway through. Use Find & Replace (Ctrl+H) to search for terms you know you use inconsistently and standardize them manually.
Word's grammar engine is good at catching rule violations — subject-verb agreement, obvious typos, basic punctuation. It's much weaker at anything that requires understanding what you meant: a sentence that's grammatically fine but confusing, a word that's spelled correctly but wrong for the context, tone that doesn't match the rest of the document. Those require actually reading the text with comprehension, not just checking it against a rulebook.
Once you've run Word's Editor, a good next step is pasting the same text into an AI proofreading tool for a second opinion — one that reads for meaning, not just rule compliance. Proofread Bot flags unclear phrasing, tone issues, and awkward sentences that Word's checker typically won't catch, and explains each suggestion in plain English.
Get a second opinion on your text →