Writing Enhancement Software Review

Writing is part of our everyday lives. Services such as Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and email have increased the amount of written communication we use on a regular basis. Your writing can say a lot about who you are, and writing enhancement software can help ensure that you're sending the right message about yourself.

Using grammar check software such as WhiteSmoke, CorrectEnglish and Microsoft Word will help you fine-tune your writing skills. No editing software will completely replace the need for a human editor, but these three software packages will alert you to a variety of common writing mistakes and allow you to make corrections before you print or hit the send button. In addition to the reviews of each product, be sure to check out our articles relating to writing enhancement software.

Writing Enhancement Software: What to Look For

Good writing enhancement software needs to enable you to correct your mistakes and learn from your errors. Here are the criteria we used for our rankings:

Editing Tools
Grammar check software should be designed to perform a basic grammar check that will consider writing components such as subject-verb agreement, the proper use of adjectives and adverbs, and the matching of verb tenses in compound clauses. It should flag the improper use of the possessive form of nouns and pronouns, along with sentence fragments. The software should also check for proper punctuation and spelling. The best spell-checkers will check your work both online and in a word processor, and are regularly updated to recognize common proper nouns, names and abbreviations.

Good grammar check software should also feature built-in style checkers. After all, you should use different styles for different kinds of documents. For example, you would use MLA style for an English or humanities class, and the Associated Press (AP) style or "The Chicago Manual of Style" for most business writing. However, these styles, particularly AP and Chicago, change frequently. Computer software, no matter how sophisticated, has a hard time keeping up to speed with these changes. We recommend purchasing reference books or subscribing to online reference databases to assist you in using specific styles.

Performance
How the software performs determines how beneficial it is. The most practical products for everyday use are those that provide a quick check and give you the option to incorporate edits with a simple click of a button. We ran a writing sample that was full of grammatical errors through each application we tested to see which one would catch the most mistakes.

Reference Tools
In addition to grammar checking, the best software packages include a built-in dictionary and thesaurus. They also include templates for commonly written documents, such as documents you may prepare in the workplace or for the classroom. Since many individuals who rely on grammar and spelling tools write English as a second language, they can benefit from a good text translator if it is part of the software package.

Help & Support
Any software you purchase today should include contact information, whether it is a phone number, email address or live chat. The software should also include online help tools such as tutorials, online forums and a detailed online manual. The company’s website should also include answers to frequently asked questions.

Writing enhancement software doesn’t take the place of human editors, but the best packages can proofread your writing with a high level of accuracy. Since you can’t expect perfection in a machine, you must also review your writing with your eyes to discern between relevant edits and those that aren’t. Nevertheless, writing enhancement software should help you spell words correctly, use proper punctuation and recognize proper sentence structure.

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