Automatic Text Analysis
ProWritingAid will automatically analyze your text using various statistics and proprietary algorithms. The analyses are based on proven rules of good writing that can be measured. Make use of adverbs sparingly, fewer transitions, fewer pronouns, glue words, and so on. These rules are important if you value good writing. ProWritingAid makes these guidelines visible.
The Realtime feature lets you quickly go through a document. It will allow you to correct any spelling, grammar, or style errors.
Once those errors are gone Once you have eliminated them, you can go to the individual reports to edit more deeply. They allow you to look into sentence patterns, repeated words and more. You can run the Summary Report in order to pinpoint the areas that need improvement the most quickly.
How to Use It
ProWritingAid provides a range of formats. Their Web Editor is a tool to edit documents in your browser. You can also use their browser extensions to fix grammar problems on sites such as Twitter or WordPress. Word addins allow you to directly edit Word documents for Windows as well as Mac.
Today we’ll concentrate on their Desktop App. This app is ideal for working using Ulysses documents.
ProWritingAid.com registration will be necessary to access the software. There are a variety of ways you can use Ulysses files and ProWritingAid. Ulysses writers can utilize the online, free Web Editor, or download the desktop application. To edit over 500 words at a time or to use the desktop application you’ll require a premium license.
The desktop program can read and write eight file types, Markdown being one of them. It is possible to export Ulysses text to Markdown File. Then, you can edit it with ProWritingAid and then add it to your Ulysses library for further processing. It’s fast and easy, with the only disadvantage that you cannot save your images and sheet attachments such as writing goals. After some play using the app, it was a great fit for my workflow.
Open ProWritingAid to create a Markdown file.
Visit your Ulysses sheet, select the text you want to copy, then use the “Copy as Markdown” option from the Edit menu.
Paste into ProWritingAid.
Now go one by one through the reports and then edit them in ProWritingAid.
If you are happy you are satisfied, copy the text you have edited.
Copy the text from your Ulysses document back to it.
The Reports
In every ProWritingAid report, problems found in your text appear underlined. If you hover your cursor over an underlined paragraph, you will get an explanation and/or suggestion. If you’re in need, simply click on an idea, e.g. Click on the suggestion to view a simpler word or a synonym.
Each report comes with a brief explanation and a link that takes you to more information on the subject. To give you an idea of what to expect, I’ll go into detail and provide several examples.
Writing Style Review This report is intended to help you improve your writing skills. The report highlights passive voice usage in your text. However writing using active voice tend to be more engaging. Writing Style Check also recommends readability enhancements.
Overused Words Check This report identifies words that are so frequently used in everyday life that they have become boring and almost useless, e.g there and have . ProWritingAid will help you find the words that are extensively used.
You can check the length of your sentence
Texts that contain sentences of varying lengths are more engaging to understand. The report shows you how long your sentences are in the form of a bar graph. This allows you to see where there is room to improve. It will identify lengthy sentences that are difficult to read.
Pricing
ProWritingAid offers an online tool that’s completely free. While it’s less user-friendly and does not offer all the reports that are available, it could help you get an initial impression. You can use the desktop app as well as other add-ons when you have the premium membership. It’s $79 for a year or $399 for a lifetime licence. ProWritingAid provides a 14-day money back guarantee that you will be satisfied with your decision.
Final Thoughts
ProWritingAid doesn’t replace human editors and is not intended to replace human editors. It can help highlight measurable aspects in a text and does an extensive job. While you will still need to edit the text you write, ProWritingAid can speed up the process and make it more efficient.