Automatic Text Analysis
ProWritingAid provides an automated analysis of your text using various statistics as well as its own algorithms. The analyses are based on the established rules of good writing that can be measured. These rules are measurable for example, the usage of adverbs sparingly. These rules are more or less apparent when you are writing well. ProWritingAid makes these guidelines visible.
The Realtime feature allows you to quickly go through a document. It will allow you to correct any spelling, grammar, or style errors.
Once you’ve fixed the errors Once you’ve fixed the errors, you can begin editing the individual reports. They allow you to look at the word choices, sentence structure and repeated words. To find out which areas you should focus on to achieve the greatest improvements in the shortest amount of time, you can run the Summary Report.
How to Utilize It
ProWritingAid can be downloaded in a variety of formats. Their Web Editor is a tool to edit documents within your browser. You can also use their extensions for your browser to correct grammar problems on websites like Twitter or WordPress. Word addins allow you to directly edit Word documents for Windows and Mac.
Today we will focus on their Desktop App which is great to work with your Ulysses files.
ProWritingAid.com registration is required to utilize this tool. You have several options for working with Ulysses documents. Ulysses writers can either make use of the free online Web Editor, or download the desktop software. You’ll need a premium licence to edit more 500 words at one time and use the desktop app.
The desktop application can read and write eight file types, Markdown as one. Export a Ulysses document as Markdown File. Next, use ProWritingAid to edit the text and then upload it to your Ulysses Library for further processing. It’s quick and simple, but you cannot keep sheets or images like writing goals. After some experimentation with the app, I discovered that the following workflow is effective for me:
Open ProWritingAid.
Go to the Ulysses file, select a passage of text and then select the “Copy a Markdown” command in the Edit menu.
Paste into ProWritingAid.
Now go one by one through the reports and then edit them in ProWritingAid.
Copy and select the edited text after you are done.
Paste the new text passage on your Ulysses sheet, replacing it with the latest version.
The Reports
ProWritingAid reports will highlight any issues you are having with your writing. If you move your cursor over an underlined passage, you’ll get an explanation and/or recommendation. Click on the suggestion, e.g. a simpler word or a synonym, to make use of it.
The reports include a brief explanation and an online link that will take you to a wealth of information about the subject of the report on ProWritingAid. I’ll go into more detail with some examples to give you an idea.
Writing Style Check This report is meant to help improve your writing style, based on a variety of rules that are essential to excellent writing. You can see that the report highlights passive voice usage in your writing. However, sentences written in active voice are more interesting. Writing Style Check highlights repeated sentence starts and offers suggestions for improvements to reading comprehension.
Overused Words Check This report identifies words so commonly 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 used to excessive extent.
Verify the length of your sentences
Texts that have sentences with different lengths can make texts more interesting to read. This report displays your sentence lengths in bar graphs, to help you see quickly if you need to improve. Additionally, it will highlight long sentences which could make the text more difficult to comprehend.
Pricing
ProWritingAid provides an online tool that’s completely free. Although it’s not as user-friendly and does not offer all the reports that are available, it could be helpful for getting an initial impression. It is possible to purchase a premium membership that allows users to access the desktop application and many add-ons for $79/year or $399 per lifetime license. It is possible to explore the options to determine whether ProWritingAid is right for you because it comes with 14-day money back guarantee.
Final Thoughts
ProWritingAid can’t (and isn’t intended to) substitute for a human editor. The tool can highlight certain measurable aspects in a text and does an impressive job. ProWritingAid is not an alternative to editing the text. However, it can aid in speeding up the process.