The apts I've seen are more geared toward formal writing than fiction manusripts. Any suggestions?
Looking for grammar ap
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None of them work well. Grammar check programs really do not check grammar, so they get it wrong fairly often. They can be useful, very useful, in certain areas, but if you actually need such a program, it will probably do more harm than good.
Simply put, you have to know when they're right and when they're wrong because they're all wrong pretty darned often.
The grammar check in Word 2007 is the best out there, and it even comes with contextual spellcheck now, and it works pretty darned well. You can also set it for formal writing, or for fiction. But even the latest Word grammar check makes some mistakes.
Simply put, you have to know when they're right and when they're wrong because they're all wrong pretty darned often.
The grammar check in Word 2007 is the best out there, and it even comes with contextual spellcheck now, and it works pretty darned well. You can also set it for formal writing, or for fiction. But even the latest Word grammar check makes some mistakes.
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Thanks for replies, guess I'll just stick wiht the one in my M S Word 2k, yeah 2K. I like it lot better than the latest version of M S Works.
The grammar check in the latest version of Works is much, much more accurate than the one in Word 2000
not many choices out there
http://www.school-for-champions.com/writing/grammar_checkers.htm
I haven't noticed any significant improvement in grammar checkers for around 10 years. Strange.
http://www.school-for-champions.com/writing/grammar_checkers.htm
I haven't noticed any significant improvement in grammar checkers for around 10 years. Strange.
With Word 2007, they upgraded significantly. And the contextual spellcheck feature also works very well. It not only checks spelling, but does a good job of catching word mistakes such as they're, their, there, which itself is part of grammar. This is probably the biggest single improvement, and wasn't even available in Word 2003, let alone Word 2000.
Grammar check still works the same, but it makes fewer mistakes, and catches things that slipped past with previous versions. It also finds passive sentences better than previous version.
The trick with any grammar/contextual spellcjeck is to go in and set it for teh way you write, rather than accepting the default, especially if you have it set to check style.
But the only way to really check grammar is to know grammar yourself. This will probably be true for a long time to come.
Word 2007 also has an option to check for passive voice which, while not grammatically wrong, can be the scourge of many writer's existence.
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Conversely, not knowing when it's appropriate to use can also be the scourge of many writers' existence.
This is why the very best strategy is to learn grammar and its subtleties for oneself.
I guess there are always exceptions, but this was my first thought, too.....in general the help you get seems to be of the wrong sort at the wrong time--if I listened to Word, for example, I'd have far more semicolons than I already do, and not in a way that strikes me as at all beneficial. Also, I get too many prompts to change words because Word doesn't recognize the word I'm using, or conversely I miss words that are wrong because Word recognized the typo as a different word entirely.
I'm sure there are better programs out there than Word, but I also suspect they have similar issues......the bottom line with proofing is for me at least, it goes back to the old addage "if you want something done right, do it yourself."
Quick
Does the latest Word version still have the built in help feature and drawing tools like Word 2K? I'm going t look into upgrading my 2k
Thanks
I know it has lots of problems and can't be counted on. If my hearing was better, I would take a class. The way it is now, I think I would just get fustrated trying to understand what is being said. Gettin old sucks but the other option sucks even more.
That is the best strategy, but Word's grammar check is a valuable tool in learning. When it flags something as wrong, it also allows you to look at the grammar rule in question. If you do this, it's usually very easy to tell whether Word is right or wrong, and you learn the rule in the process.
Trouble from grammar check comes from trusting it blindly. But if you take the time to read and think about the rule, you will learn grammar, and you'll learn where you're weakest.
I just caught a link to http://www.bookshrink.com/ at metafilter. Interesting.
You can input text and get an analysis of the "most representative" sentences.
You can input text and get an analysis of the "most representative" sentences.
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http://englishplus.com/grammar/
ETA: EVERYONE who is "looking for a grammar app" should read this:
http://englishplus.com/news/readthis.htm
ETA: EVERYONE who is "looking for a grammar app" should read this:
http://englishplus.com/news/readthis.htm
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i treat grammar checker as a complementary writing tool and my advise to writers is not to depend too much on it.