PC Doctor January 19, 2021
Have your computer questions answered here! Search the PC Doctor archive or submit a question of your own at info@athollibrary.org
Dear PC Doctor:
I have to do a lot of writing for my job. I’m not a terrific writer. I have a friend who proofreads a lot of my stuff before I hand it in to my team, but she’s not always available. Are there any internet tools that could help me improve my writing so that my first drafts are a little better?
Thanks,
Not-a-Poet
Dear Not-a-Poet:
It’s great that you want to improve your writing! There are a number of fun and easy to use tools online that might be helpful to you. With most, you paste your paragraphs into a text box, and the tool will analyze what you have written and make suggestions for how it could be clearer or easier for your audience to understand.
Here are a few that have been recommended to me:
Hemingway Editor (hemingwayapp.com)
The Hemingway Editor “reads” your text and lets you know how easy it is to read. It will highlight sentences that are unclear and assign a reading level to the text.
The cliché finder scans your text for over-used phrases that you can then choose to replace with different language.
Grammarly (Grammarly.com) is free (for the basic version) but requires you to create an account and sign in. It will assess your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
If none of the above give you what you want, do a Google search for “Tools to improve my writing.” You will see many, many choices – Have fun!
I hope this helps.
Until next time,
Happy Computing!
PC Doctor
Editor's Note: Questions should be directed to PC Doctor, care of the Athol Public Library, info@athollibrary.org or Athol Public Library, 568 Main St., Athol, Mass. 01331, or dropped off at the library
