Preparing legal arguments, affidavits, draft pleadings, and motions is just the beginning of a paralegal's job. Every document must be reviewed, often by multiple parties, and the comments and revisions must be tracked and incorporated into the documents. Without an organized approach, large documents and their changes can quickly become unwieldy and confusing. Comments and revisions can overlap, and some might get lost in the shuffle.

Microsoft Office Word 2003 can help you track changes and compare versions of your documents more precisely. With the Track Changes feature, you can have multiple reviewers mark up separate copies of the document, and then you can merge all of the changes — and review them at the same time. You can see who added each comment and when, and track additional changes that you make as you review the document. You can also use a Word template to help you create and structure larger documents, such as legal pleadings.

Use the following information and tools to better manage and revise large documents and maintain high standards of accuracy.

• About tracked changes and comments (Article)
  Learn how you can view all or only certain kinds ofrevisions in your document.
• Turn on or off change tracking (Article)
  Know how to track changes when you want to, and turn off the feature when you don't.
• Compare and merge documents (Article)
  Compare documents, and selectively merge them into one.
• Insert another file into an open document (Article)
  Insert all or part of one Word file into a specific section of another document.
• Taming unruly formatting in your Word documents (Article)
  Keep formatting nightmares at bay with these useful tips.
• Get rid of tracked changes and comments, once and for all (Article)
  Learn how to completely accept or reject changes and delete comments in your document.