Editing Tools:  

Editor offers a choice of six usage analyses. These analyses include Fix, two spell checks, Tighten, Polish and Consider.

The Fix edit looks for grammatical errors, such as misplaced commas or missing punctuation. This edit goes beyond what Word can offer to include advice on the use of dashes, ellipses, parentheses and numbers.

Spell 1 and Spell 2 supplements word processor spell checks, by catching things they do not and by evaluating word usage. Spell 2 looks for unobvious errors such as possessive/plural confusions, incorrect phrases, archaic or colloquial terms, incorrect abbreviations and homonym, capitalization and hyphen errors. Additionally, it has the ability to find problems in written English whether the writer is using American or British spelling.

Tighten points out possible problem phrases, like wordy phrases, redundancies and other tautological errors. With this check you can eliminate unnecessary words and compose clear, direct statements.

The Polish edit marks stale, overused words as well as vague terms and clichés. Utilizing Polish you can remove tired language and replace it with fresh, accurate wording.

Consider is an advanced edit that questions rash or illogical statements, discriminatory language, awkward phrases and jargon. Consider is an excellent edit for any type of writing, from scholarly to business documents. It can help you get rid of unfounded or rash assertions and narrow language, so that you can present content that is unassuming and inoffensive.

Additionally it has a Word List feature that looks for word and phrase repetition as well repeated passages.

This editor uses well written formal MLA prose as its standard, but editing features can be hidden to customize the edits to your preference. Editor does not offer as many editing options as Writer’s WorkBench, but for most writers the six analyses with the ability to set 49 editing options is more than sufficient. In addition, the analyses can run simultaneously and faster than Writer’s WorkBench.

Feedback:  

Editor has the ability to edit at the word, phrase and sentence level and replies with relevant feedback. It can catch misspelled words and mark possible misused words like “were” and “where” and confusing phrases. Editor does not automatically change your text, instead it offers two views. One view displays your text with numbered errors and the second view displays the checks ran with a sample of the text in question and the rule. For example, when it scanned our word “disc” it responds with “NONSTANDARD SPELLING”; “disk” except after “compact” [n].

When we tested this program with one of our samples, written by one of our writers, it did not find any Fix, Spell 1/Spell 2 or Polish errors, but quickly found a wordy phrase, a few pretentious words and jargon. At the end of the report it displayed the number of words and sentences and “counted items,” which included “to be” verbs, logic markers, “this” and “it,” and second person uses. The word and sentence count can be used to estimate sentence complexity and the “counted items” can be used to measure the level of formality. When we ran a more complex piece that contained proprietary terms and computer language it marked jargon and questioned the use of hyphens and so on. With this sample we could have turned off the typing error flag in Editor’s Preferences list and Editor would have ignored words like “FireWire” and “WinDVD” and our report would have only included applicable feedback.

A useful feature in Editor is the Word List feature, which actually counts the number of times a particular word or phrase is used. It can look for word repetition and frequency as well as repeated phrases and passages. The word frequency count will display how many times you use every word in your text. With this check you can easily see which words you overuse or under use (which is useful when writing for SEO purposes).

Reference Tools:  

Editor’s reference section includes explanations of the symbols used in Editor as well as definitions of common mechanical, spelling, punctuation and topographical errors. All definitions and explanations include correct/incorrect samples.

Additional Tools:  

This program does not include templates or a citation guide or generator. But does include tools that can help you enrich your text by eliminating unnecessary words, pretentious language, illogical expressions or vague statements. It can also help you focus your writing by checking for redundancy and repetition. We found that after using editor our writing became tighter and more focused since we were able to catch wordiness such as “all of” and “in order to.”

Applications:  

Editor can be used with most word–processor files including Word, Works and WordPerfect, as well as HTML and RTF files. The newest version will run with Windows XP and the 2001 release is Macintosh compatible. With the use of BootCamp or Parallel WorkStation, the newest version can run on Macs.

Although this program can improve any type of writing, it is primarily applicable to writing in the MLA format, which is appropriate for most writing including nonscientific scholarly and creative.

Help/Support:  

You can contact Serenity software by email, fax or mail. Online they post FAQs and the software includes a comprehensive user manual and help section. They answered our emails within a day and provided relevant and useful information. Additionally, they provide a money–back guarantee.

Editor offers quick, relevant feedback, so you can compose clear, effective text.