MS Word and Writing

Here's one tip regarding MS Word

FROM Guide to Grammar and Style by Jack Lynch

MS Word, in its many versions, is now the most common word processor on both the PC and the Macintosh. It's so widespread, and so meddlesome, that it deserves a special note. The "AutoCorrect" feature, in particular, is a damned nuisance. It was designed by and for people who like high-tech toys, not by and for people who write.

• Word wants to make the letters that accompany ordinal numbers — the st in first, the nd in second, the rd in third, and the th in other numbers — superscripts: not 11th, but 11^th. Humbug. Look around: you'll notice that no professionally printed books use superscripts, and neither should you. Besides, most house styles say most ordinal numbers should be spelled out: eleventh.

Solutions? For starters, turn off the superscript ordinals; there's no reason for them in the world. (It's under "Tools," at least in the current versions of Word.)