Automatic Text Analysis
ProWritingAid automatically analyses your text using various statistics and its proprietary algorithms. The analyses are based on established rules for good writing that can actually be measured, e.g. to avoid using adverbs in excess and to use more transitions, use fewer pronouns and glue words, and many other. These rules can help you write better writing when you are interested in it. ProWritingAid makes the rules easily accessible.
Realtime allows you to quickly go through documents.
Once those errors are gone Once you have eliminated them, you can go to the individual reports to edit more deeply. They will let you look at your sentence and word choices, patterns as well as repeat words. To determine which areas you should focus on to achieve the most improvement in the fastest time You can conduct a Summary Report.
How to Utilize It
ProWritingAid has many different formats. Their Web Editor can be used to edit documents within your browser. You can also use their browser extensions to fix any grammar issues on websites like Twitter or WordPress. Word addins allow users to edit directly Word documents on Windows and Mac.
Today, though we’ll be focusing on their Desktop App , which is perfect to work on your Ulysses documents.
ProWritingAid.com registration is required to utilize this tool. There are several ways to work with Ulysses documents as well as ProWritingAid. Ulysses writers be able to utilize the online editor, or the desktop version. You will need a premium license to edit more then 500 words at a time or download our desktop application.
The desktop application can read eight file types (Markdown is one of them). You can therefore export a Ulysses text as Markdown File, conduct the editing process using ProWritingAid, and import back to your Ulysses‘ library for further processing. It’s quick and easy however you’re not given the option to save your images and attachments (e.g. writing goals). After some experimentation using the application, I found the following workflow works well for me:
Open ProWritingAid.
Go to Ulysses and select a text paragraph and then select the Copy as Markdown command from the Edit menu.
Paste into ProWritingAid.
Now go through each one of the reports, and make edits in ProWritingAid.
Copy and select the edited text after you are done.
Copy the text from the previous version onto your Ulysses page, using the “Paste from Markdown“ option from the Edit menu.
The Reports
ProWritingAid reports underline any issues that you may have. If you move your cursor over a text that is underlined and you’ll receive an explanation and/or recommendation. Where applicable you can simply click on an idea, e.g. You can use a synonym or a more simple word to accomplish the task.
The reports include a short explanation along with the ProWritingAid’s extensive information. Let me provide an example to help get an idea of what I am talking about.
Writing Style Review This report is designed to improve your writing skills. For instance, the report examines the usage of passive voice within your text because sentences written that are written in active voice are more engaging to read. Writing Style Check will also identify repetitions in sentences and offers ways to increase readability.
Overused Words This report looks at words that are so common in daily life that they are almost meaningless. It’s impossible to stay clear of them, however ProWritingAid can identify if you have been using them in excess.
Verify the length of sentence
Texts that have sentences of different lengths can make texts more enjoyable to read. This report shows the length of your sentences using a bargraph, so you can easily identify areas for improvement. What’s more, the report will identify especially long sentences, since they can render a text difficult to comprehend.
Pricing
The ProWritingAid online tool is available free for use. Although it is more difficult to use and doesn’t offer access to all reports, it could be useful for making an initial impression. You can get a premium membership that allows users to access the desktop software and numerous additional features for just $79/year, or $399 for a lifetime license. ProWritingAid comes with a 14-day money back guarantee, so you are free to take your time to decide whether ProWritingAid is the right choice for you.
Final Thoughts
ProWritingAid isn’t intended to replace the human editor. It highlights certain aspects of a text, and does an excellent job. Although you’ll still have to edit the text you write, ProWritingAid can speed up the process and improve it.