Automatic Text Analysis
ProWritingAid analyses your text with a variety of metrics and its own algorithm. The analyses are based on proven rules of good writing that can be measured. to use adverbs sparingly, and to use less transitions. If you care for quality writing, you’ll likely adhere to these rules more or less in your head. ProWritingAid makes these rules systematically visible.
If you want to work through a document quickly, the Realtime feature will help you edit away any glaring spelling, grammar and style issues:
Once these mistakes are fixed Once these errors are fixed, you can move on to separate reports for thorough editing. These allow you to dig into your word choices, sentence structures, repeated words and more. To determine which areas you should focus on to achieve the most improvement in the fastest time, you can run a Summary Report.
How to Use it
ProWritingAid is available for download in many formats. You can use their Web Editor to modify documents in your browser, their browser extensions allow you to fix grammar issues quickly on sites like Twitter, WordPress, Gmail and Facebook as well as their Word add-ins for Windows and Mac allow you to modify your Word documents directly.
Today, we’ll focus on their Desktop App. This app is perfect for working using Ulysses documents.
You’ll need to register on ProWritingAid.com to be able to use the tool. There are a variety of ways you can work with Ulysses files and ProWritingAid. Ulysses writers may either use the free online Web Editor or download the desktop program. You’ll require a premium license to edit up to 500 words at one time and also to use the desktop application.
The desktop application is able to read and write 8 different file types, Markdown among them. Export a Ulysses document to a Markdown File. Next, make use of ProWritingAid to edit the text and then upload it to your Ulysses Library to further process. This is fast and easy. But, you aren’t able to save images and other sheet attachments, such as writing goals. After testing the application, I discovered the following process to work well for me.
Use ProWritingAid to create a Markdown file.
Visit your Ulysses file, select a passage of text and then select the “Copy a Markdown” command from the Edit menu.
Paste into ProWritingAid.
Now go one by one through the reports and edit within ProWritingAid.
Once you’re finished, click and copy the text you edited.
Paste the new text passage on your Ulysses sheet, and replace it with the latest version.
The Reports
In every ProWritingAid report, problems that you have identified in your report are underlined. Click on the underlined area to get the explanation or suggestion. Click on a suggestion if it is applicable, e.g. To use it, you can click on an idea (e.g.
The reports come with a brief explanation and a link which takes you to extensive details about the report. ProWritingAid. For you to get an idea, I will discuss the report in detail and give several examples.
Writing Style Review This report is intended to help you improve your writing skills. This report can help you identify the use of passive voice within your writing. The sentences that are active voice are more interesting and easy to comprehend. Writing Style Check examines sentence start points that are repeated and makes recommendations for enhancements to readability.
Overused words checked This report contains words that are that are so commonly used in daily living that they have virtually lost all significance. ProWritingAid might not be able detect the frequency with which you use them in excess.
You can check the length of your sentence.
Texts with sentences of different lengths can make texts more enjoyable to read. This report visualizes your sentence lengths as a bar graph, to let you know at a glance if there’s room for improvement. In addition, it highlights lengthy sentences that can make a text more difficult to comprehend.
Pricing
ProWritingAid Online Tool is Free. It’s not as user-friendly and you won’t be able to access all reports. However, it could make a good first impression. Premium memberships let you use the desktop app as well as add-ons, and are priced beginning at $79 per year or $399 for lifetime licensing. ProWritingAid lets you be patient, and it provides a 14-day money back assurance.
Last Thoughts
ProWritingAid does not replace editors, and isn’t designed to replace human editors. It focuses on specific elements of text that are measurable and does an excellent job. Although you’ll still have to edit your text, ProWritingAid can speed up the process and make it more efficient.