Automatic Text Analysis
ProWritingAid will examine your text using a variety of metrics and algorithms developed by ProWritingAid. The analyses are based on the established rules of good writing that can be measured. Adverbs should be used sparingly, be more careful with transitions, use fewer pronouns or glue words, and so on. If you are serious about writing well, you will likely try to adhere to these guidelines in your head. ProWritingAid makes them easily visible.
If you want to work through your document in a hurry The Realtime feature can assist you in removing all spelling, grammar or style problems:
Once these mistakes are fixed Once these errors are fixed, you can move on to individual reports for thorough editing. They will let you look at your word choices and sentence structures as well as repeated words. You can run a Summary Report to determine where you need to focus to achieve the greatest improvement in the shortest amount of time:
How to Utilize It
ProWritingAid is available for download in many formats. Their Web Editor allows you to edit documents from your browser. They also include browser extensions that let you to quickly fix grammar issues on websites such as Twitter, WordPress, Gmail, Facebook and Facebook. You can also edit your Word documents using their Word add-ins available for Windows and Mac.
Today, though we’ll be focusing on their Desktop App , which is great to work on your Ulysses documents.
ProWritingAid.com registration is necessary to access the tool. There are many ways you can use Ulysses documents and ProWritingAid. Ulysses authors can use the online Web Editor for free or download the desktop software. A premium license is required in order to edit more than 500 words in a session, or to make use of the desktop application.
The desktop program can read and write 8 file types, Markdown being one of them. So you can export a Ulysses text as Markdown File, conduct the editing with ProWritingAid, and import back into your Ulysses‘ library to further process. This is fast and convenient but it has one drawback that you can’t keep the sheet and images like writing goals. After some play using the app, it was a great fit for my workflow.
Open ProWritingAid, and create a Markdown File.
Go to your Ulysses sheet, choose the text you want to copy, then select the “Copy as Markdown” command from the Edit menu.
Paste into ProWritingAid.
Go through each report one at a time and then edit in ProWritingAid.
If you are happy you are satisfied, copy the edited text.
Paste the text from the previous version onto your Ulysses page by selecting the “Paste from Markdown“ option in the Edit menu.
The Reports
In every ProWritingAid report, problems found in your text appear underlined. When moving your cursor over an underlined passage, you’ll get an explanation and/or recommendation. Where applicable you can simply click on a suggestion, e.g. It is possible to make use of a synonym or simpler term to make it work.
The reports include a brief explanation and a link to detailed information on the subject. There are a few examples to give you an understanding of the length and depth of my explanation.
Writing Style Check This report will aid you in improving your writing skills. It is based on a variety of guidelines that are beneficial for writing. For instance it will help you find passive voice in your writing that can make it difficult to understand. Sentences that are active in voice are simpler to read. Writing Style Check also identifies repeated sentences starts and suggests ways to improve readability.
The report examines the words that are so ubiquitous in everyday life that they are nearly meaningless. ProWritingAid may not be able tell the frequency with which you use them in excess.
Verify the length of sentences.
Texts with sentences with different lengths can make texts more enjoyable to read. This report will show the length of your sentences using a bargraph, so you can easily see where there are opportunities for improvement. In addition, it highlights long sentences which can make a text difficult to understand.
Pricing
The ProWritingAid online tool is available free for use. It is less comfortable to use, and you won’t have access to all available reports, but it may serve for a first impression. Premium memberships are available for as low as $79 per calendar year and $399 per life license. ProWritingAid is backed by the 14-day guarantee of money back which allows you to take your time and decide if it is right for you.
Last Thoughts
ProWritingAid can’t (and isn’t intended to) replace an editor who is human. It highlights certain elements of text and performs an excellent job. While you will still need to edit your text, ProWritingAid can speed up the process and improve it.