Editor

When peer editing is lacking or you want to clean up your writing before submitting it to others, I have found an amazing software. Unfortunately, this doesn't substitute for opinions or ideas, but what this program can do is absolutely amazing.

I always thought of myself as being pretty good at grammar, but this program makes me look bad. I used this program before sending it to my editor. It helped take trivial issues out of the mix for the editor. It is called Editor. Pretty fitting title. It is made by Serenity Software.

It works with WORD as a tool to help show the mistakes and picks up mistakes that Word would miss.

Ex: She said, “Stop shouting, for goodness sakes!”
Editor correction: Spelling errors: You mean goodness' sake.

Ex: We lost up to thirty soldiers or more in the firefight.

Editor correction: Up to . . . or more is an illogical expression.

Ex: Stalling tactics only prolong the inevitable.

Editor correction: Nonidiomatic: You mean delay the inevitable.

Ex: Nothing in the world can stop progress.

Editor correction: Rash assertion: How do you know?

Ex: Global warming is an absolute fact.

Editor correction: Redundant: Absolute is meaningless here.

Ex: A certain amount of pollution is unavoidable.

Editor correction: A certain amount of is wordy. Some? <===It sometimes offers suggestions.

Sometimes when using the program you have to decide whether or not to use Editor's suggestions because you don't want to lose your voice in a paper. However, Editor can help identify cliches and idiomatic phrases that you may not have known and can save you if you are writing a formal or research paper.

Ex: Parents should spend quality time with their children.

Editor correction: Quality time is a jargon term.

Ex: The book was copyright 2004.

Editor correction: Commonly misused term: copyright in?

Ex: The discoveries tie in with earlier findings.

Editor correction: Tie in with is a slang phrase.

Everything I've taken is from their website, but when you download the trial, you will get a sample paragraph and can really see what the program can do. Like I said, it makes suggestions, but does not always mean they are right for your work, so you still should decide for yourself.

Here is the trial: http://www.serenity-software.com/pages/demo_page.html

Lots of <3,

Jess