Automatic Text Analysis
ProWritingAid performs an automated analysis of your written text using various statistics as well as its own algorithm. The analyses are based on a set of rules to write that are measured. These rules can be measured, such as the usage of adverbs sparingly. If you’re interested in good writing, you’ll probably adhere to these rules more or less subconsciously. ProWritingAid helps you to make it easily visible.
If you’re looking to go through a document quickly The Realtime feature will assist you in removing any glaring spelling, grammar and style problems:
After you have corrected these mistakes After you have fixed these errors, you can proceed to the individual reports to edit them in detail. They allow you to dig into your word choices, sentences, words that are repeated and much more. You can run a Summary Report to find out the areas you should focus on to make the most improvement in the most time:
How to Use It
ProWritingAid is available in a host of formats. You can use their Web Editor to edit documents in your browser, their browser extensions allow you to make quick grammar fixes on websites like Twitter, WordPress, Gmail and Facebook as well as their Word add-ins for Windows and Mac let you edit your Word documents right from the word.
We’ll be focusing on their Desktop App today it’s ideal for use alongside the Ulysses documents.
To access ProWritingAid.com, you will need to sign up. There are many ways to use Ulysses documents and ProWritingAid. Ulysses writers have two options: the online Web Editor is free, or you can download the desktop application. You’ll need a premium licence to edit up to 500 words at one time and also to use the desktop application.
The desktop application can read and write eight different file types, Markdown among them. Export the Ulysses document as Markdown File. Next, make use of ProWritingAid to edit the text and then import it back into your Ulysses Library for further processing. It’s fast and easy but it has one drawback that you can’t keep your images and sheet attachments like writing goals. After some play using the app, it was a great fit for me and my workflow.
Open ProWritingAid.
Visit your Ulysses file, choose the text you want to copy and then select the “Copy a Markdown” option from the Edit menu.
Paste into ProWritingAid.
Now go through each report, and edit in ProWritingAid.
After you’re done, select the edited text, and then copy it.
Copy the text of the previous version onto your Ulysses page by selecting the “Paste from Markdown“ option from the Edit menu.
The Reports
ProWritingAid reports display your text underlined. When you hover your mouse over an underlined paragraph, you will receive an explanation and/or a suggestion. If you’re in need, simply click on a suggestion, e.g. To make use of it, click on a suggestion (e.g.
The reports include a brief explanation, as well as a link which takes you to extensive information about the subject of the report on ProWritingAid. To give you an idea, I will discuss the report in detail and give some examples.
Writing Style Check This report helps to improve your writing skills. The report focuses on passive voice usage in your writing. However writing in active voice tend to be more engaging. Writing Style Check also points out repetitions in sentence beginnings and Adverbs. It makes suggestions to improve readability.
Overused Words This report examines the words that are so common in daily life that they’re nearly meaningless. They are not something you can avoid, but ProWritingAid will tell you if you’ve used them too often.
Check your sentences.
Texts that contain sentences of varying lengths will be more interesting to understand. This report displays your sentence lengths in bar graphs, to help you see quickly if you need to improve. What’s more, the report will identify particularly long sentences, as they can make a text less understandable.
Pricing
ProWritingAid’s online tool is completely free. Although it’s not as user-friendly and does not offer all the reports that are available, it can be helpful for getting an initial impression. Premium memberships are available for as low as $79 for a calendar year, and $399 per life license. ProWritingAid comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee which allows you to take your time and decide whether it’s the right choice for you.
Final Thoughts
ProWritingAid cannot (and isn’t meant to) substitute for a human editor. The tool highlights the most important aspects of a document and performs a thorough work. ProWritingAid is not a substitute for editing your text. It can, however, aid in speeding up the process.