1 - Introduction ~5 mins
Welcome
Tracked edits help while a document is still being improved, but a real reader should never see red markup or open comment balloons. Today you take a newsletter that a partner has marked up and turn it into a clean, finished file you would be happy to hand to a customer or a manager for the real business or service you are building in this course.
What you will be able to do today
- Go through tracked changes one at a time and decide to keep or discard each one, with a reason you can say out loud
- Finish a document off properly once a partner has reviewed it
- Reply to comments, close them, and clear every trace of review markup before you save
No reviewed copy yet? Your teacher will give you a short sample file to practise on, or pair you with someone who already has markup.
Warm-up
Quick show of hands with your teacher: who has ever handed in a file that still showed review markup? Keep it light, then name the standard: finished work should look finished.
2 - Key Concepts ~6 mins
Watch four real decisions on screen first. Keep the short Accept / Reject / Respond strip beside you when you open software.
Worked example: four decisions on Aoife's newsletter
Aoife is polishing a one-page newsletter for her custom phone-case side hustle before sharing it with a local Centra manager who might stock a small display. A peer left three tracked edits and one comment:
- Spelling fix "recieve" to "receive" — Accept (clear error).
- Tone change "Buy now or miss out!!!" to "Pre-order this week while stock lasts." — Accept (calmer, still persuasive).
- Price change "€12" to "€9" — Reject (peer guessed; Aoife's real cost needs €12).
- Comment "Add where people can collect orders?" — Aoife replies "Collect Fridays at the school office after 3pm", adds that line to the body, then resolves the comment.
Desk strip (glance during practice):
- Accept — keep the suggestion; it becomes normal text (stronger wording, spelling, or structure on purpose).
- Reject — discard the suggestion; keep your facts, brand, and audience (for example euro prices, not dollars).
- Respond / Resolve — reply in the thread, fix the body if needed, then close the comment so feedback is finished, not ignored.
Two habits that finish the job:
- One-by-one with a reason — never Accept All on the first pass; blind Accept All can lock in wrong facts or tone.
- Finalise / clear markup — finish remaining decisions, resolve comments, turn review mode off, save a clean file (Aoife's clean final is {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_v5}} for the Centra manager).
You will use that same standard on your own newsletter: one change, one reason, until the page looks finished. Wrong click? Undo and try again; the judgement matters more than a perfect first pass.
3 - Step-by-step Task ~15 mins
Practise accept, reject, respond, and finalise on the class sample or a short reviewed newsletter. Work one change at a time and name a reason before you click.
Before you click anything: can you see at least one tracked change or suggestion and one comment? If not, use the class sample or ask your partner to add markup now. Do not start Accept or Reject blind.
Four phases, in this order: (1) Open and save a practice copy · (2) See markup · (3) Two decisions (one Accept, one Reject) · (4) Comment, tracking off, Resolve.
If Accept is greyed out or you cannot see any markup, do not panic. Check the Common Issues table or ask your partner to click the change first, then try again.
4 - Common Issues ~4 mins
Common Issues
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| I cannot see any tracked changes or suggestions | In Word for the web, open the Review tab and set Display for Review / Markup to show all markup. In Google Docs, check the margin for suggestion cards and confirm your partner used Suggesting mode. If the file truly has no markup, open the class sample or ask your partner to add two suggestions and one comment before you continue. |
| Accept / Reject buttons are greyed out | Click directly on a change or suggestion first so it is selected. Check you are not in Viewing-only mode and that you have edit access to the file. In Google Docs, switch to Editing before accepting someone else's suggestions on a file you own. |
| I used Accept All and now a wrong fact is in the newsletter | Use {{kbd:Ctrl+Z}} (Windows/Chromebook) or {{kbd:Cmd+Z}} (Mac) immediately if the mistake is still undoable. If not, retype the correct fact, then go back to one-by-one review for anything still marked up. Avoid Accept All until the hard decisions are finished. |
| Comments will not go away after I reply | A reply alone does not clear the thread. Click Resolve (Google Docs) or Resolve/Delete on the comment control (Word for the web). Then scan the page once more for leftover balloons before you call the file final. |
| My screen looks different from the instructions | Word for the web and Google Docs move Review controls between updates. Look for the same words: Review, Accept, Reject, Comments, Suggesting, Resolve. Ask your teacher to point to the matching control on the classroom screen. |
5 - Independent Practice ~20 mins
Independent Practice
First minute — can you both edit? Open the pair share (or pre-shared folder). If Share fails after one retry, stop sharing and switch to the solo path immediately: open the class sample markup on your real newsletter (or finalise from sample markup your teacher provides) so you still save a finished {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_v5}} today.
No partner from the start? Use the class sample (or practice-file skills from the step-by-step) on your real newsletter and still save a clean {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_v5}}.
If sharing works but runs long, leave two edits and one comment instead of three. Judgement quality matters more than count.
- Minutes 1–8 — Share and leave markup: Open your source newsletter from {{code:Project_Portfolio}} / {{code:09_specialism/sm1}}: use {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_reviewed.docx}} if you have it, otherwise your latest working newsletter. Do not open the {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_review_practice}} drill file. Share edit access with your partner ({{btn:Share}}, then set them as editor). Before you type on your partner's file: Word for the web: open the Review tab and turn Track Changes on. Google Docs: set the mode menu to Suggesting. Leave ordinary comments in either app. On your partner's file, leave at least three tracked changes or suggestions plus one comment tied to clarity, facts, or audience fit (or two edits + one comment if sharing ran long). Then stop so your partner still has a real accept/reject pass. Your partner does the same on yours.
- Minutes 9–18 — Finalise your own file: Switch back to your own newsletter (the reviewed or working file, not the drill). Work one change at a time: Next or suggestion card, say a reason, then Accept or Reject. Reply to comments, turn Track Changes off or set Editing before your own body fixes, resolve threads, and clear remaining markup. You need at least one Accept and one Reject you can explain.
- Minutes 19–20 — Name and check: Save the clean final as {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_v5}} in your {{code:sm1}} folder. Quick visual check: no balloons, no coloured markup, facts still correct.
Good markup examples (mirror these):
- Good suggestion: change "Buy now or miss out!!!" to "Pre-order this week while stock lasts." (calmer tone for real customers)
- Good comment: "Is collection still Friday at the school office?" (checks a fact the reader needs)
If you remember nothing else: work on the reviewed or latest working newsletter rather than the practice drill, and share edit access once so your partner can get in. Turn Track Changes on, or switch to Suggesting, before you leave any markup on their file. Back on your own file, move change by change and say a reason for each one before you Accept or Reject it, then reply to the comments and resolve them, turn review off, and save the result as {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_v5}}.
- {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_v5}} is saved inside your {{code:sm1}} Specialism folder
- The final page shows no tracked markup, suggestion highlights, or open comment balloons
- You can name one change you accepted and one you rejected, each with a clear reason
- Facts that matter (names, dates, € prices, calls to action) still match your own project
This clean v5 is worth keeping: it is the kind of finished document you can show as evidence of your project work later in the year. Finished means no markup.
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