
#STYLEWRITER 4 SOFTWARE SOFTWARE#
Wright had many years of experience as an editor, software designer, lecturer, and instructor under his belt. At that time, Wright decided to create a piece of software which could help out those in need of a more comprehensive tool than Microsoft Word. StyleWriter’s origins are rooted in the United Kingdom in the 1990’s. The 4th version is still used in this way, as an addition which complements – but does not replace – Word’s spelling and grammar checkers. History of StyleWriter 1, 2, 3Ĭreated by Nick Wright, Rosemary Tilly, and Peter Stanton, StyleWriter’s earlier versions have always been compatible with Microsoft’s Word (check out WordPerfect, too), and were used as an add-on to the world-famous word processor.

Using written communication effectively to get your message across. It is a program which was created with a single concept in mind: the idea that using plain English is the best way of conveying ideas and transferring meaning. Its goal is simple: to make your English text plainer, simpler, and more understandable. StyleWriter 4 is one of the most straightforward, non-BS pieces of writing software there are, and this is part of what makes it so unique. Sometimes those bells and whistles are justified, sometimes they are not.
#STYLEWRITER 4 SOFTWARE FULL#
Some writing-enhancement programs are full of bells and whistles. Editor Software, 64 Woodmancote, Dursley, Glos, GL11 4AQ, England. StyleWriter: the plain English editor – Version 4.
#STYLEWRITER 4 SOFTWARE TRIAL#
The latest version has been completely re-vamped, and the best feature of all that’s been added is a free trial version which you can download here. On the other hand you can add rules and dictionary items. You even get a statistical summary of what you write (keep an eye on those long sentences) and if you don’t agree with a particular item of advice, you can remove it. There’s even a setting for ‘creative’ writing that permits the bending of grammatical rules.īut on the whole it aims to produce witing which is shorter, clearer, and free from cloudiness and jargon. It also allows you to choose the type of writing you wish to check and edit – so it copes with the various requirements for writing by lawyers, government officials, engineers, educators, or accountants. The publishers have recently dropped the price if you download it from their website. I ditched Grammatik in its favour, hardly without thinking. So – the program is well worth recommending. But for we lesser mortals the strictures are probably useful.

Henry James would only just be approaching the subject of his sentence after such a short preamble, and his verb would be still some way off. It is easy to observe that many great prose stylists would not pass the test of the forty word maximum sentence length which the program recommends. This includes a word and sentence count, and a natty bar chart with encouraging comments on your results There is also a summary which reveals the number of occurrences of features such as complex words, business clichés, foreign words, hidden verbs, and jargon. A full help system is available from pull-down menus, and this also includes tips on punctuation, grammar, and appropriate style.Īt the end of the check, a full statistical report is available. This editing function is commendably efficient: it takes the cursor to the exact spot in your text where corrections will be made. The bottom window contains your original file, which can be edited. The highlights are also colour-coded: dark red for suggested improvements, black for misused words, and bright red for spelling mistakes. This has the advantage that individual items can be seen in their grammatical context. The top window reveals several lines of your text, with any problems highlighted. The program is invoked from within your word-processor, and it works by splitting the screen in two. As the guidance notes say, “A low average sentence length and a low Passive Index makes your writing much more readable and interesting.” Its stated aim is to help users produce plain English. STYLEWRITER tries to overcome this problem by offering a wide palette of distinctions and a selection of writing styles from which to choose. Yet they can save you from many embarrassing mistakes – and you can learn good writing habits from them.

It’s no fun having your weaknesses highlighted.

Lots of people don’t like spelling-checkers and grammar-checkers. Grammar, spelling, and editing software program
