My initial reaction was not unlike that of garfield-n-odie. Jay's response
was more productive, though. There are useful templates out there.

Seriously, I hope Microsoft does _not_ take you up on the suggestions for
changes to Word. I realize that you put some time into making the
suggestions and they are heartfelt. It could make Word a lot harder for most
general users to use. Each time specialized features are added, they make
Word more complicated and risk making current features not work as well as
they do now. They seldom work well enough to really be helpful. (Take a look
at the Master Document "feature.")

To the extent Microsoft can develop and distribute templates that do what
you want, more power to them, and you.

The synonymn and dictionary are updated periodically, but not monthly,
probably just when a new version of Word is released. There are other tools
available for this. If you are using Word instead of a real dictionary and
thesaurus for your research, you are limiting yourself. These tools in Word
are intended to be rudimentary and are helpful for general writers.

The cross-reference features already in Word are very powerful and few
people are willing to take the time to learn them.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
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"tchicks" wrote in message
...
I would like Word (student and teacher version) to have a template a
student can use to write a term paper, essay, or thesis. This should
include
various writing formats: proposal, applications paper, dissertation,
thesis,
research project etc.)
I want it to also include a template for the reference page; choices
of
either Chicago, APA or MLA style. Or any other popular styles. This will
help students, young and mature, with work flow and fewer work
interruptions.
There should be a feature to save references so we can choose and input
previously use citings or just create them while reading the source and
input
them when the paper is written.
The synonym and dictionary feature should be periodically updated with
new words. It's too basic for students and teachers.
I use Microsoft Office 2003 for Students and Teachers.

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