Grammar Checker: Rightwriter vs. Ginger vs. Whitesmoke & Grammarly

Why would you need a grammar checker software? Imagine receiving a business letter and you find it has a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. You would most probably think less of the sender, wouldn’t you? Be reminded, though, that more than 60 percent of all business communications have some kind of grammatical error like apostrophe errors, missing words, wrong spelling and more.

Most of the times we do not have the patience and time to edit or proofread our work or, much less, other peoples work for a thorough grammar check. Enter grammar checker program. Now, imagine what the readers of your letters, e-mail, business communications and other written material would think if 60 percent of your work had mistakes.

Right Writer is a affordable desktop based grammar software, you don't need a internet connection for grammar correcting. Ginger Software is also desktop based, but you must have internet connection to check your grammar errors. And, ginger is not cheap. We have been researched and compared these two grammar checking & correction software.

Pros of Right Writer:

1) One time cheap price with free lifetime updates.

2) Instant check, Ginger’s results are slow to come, it depends on speed of your network connection.

3) Right Writer has a lot to offer in terms of editing tools. It checks for over 5,000 grammar rules including subject-verb agreement, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, split infinitives, proper use of conjunctions and possessive forms, redundancy, misused words, capitalization, proper punctuation and weak sentence structure. It also includes a spell-checker.

We recommend that you check the spelling in your document prior to clicking the "Analyze" button. The analysis tool in the program looks for spelling mistakes, but it's better to find those before they crowd your analysis results.

Cons (Ginger pros):

1) Poor Compatibility: You must copy/paste text into right writer for grammar analyzing.

2) Right Writer has not a free trial, you can try ginger with a free download

3) Right Writer does come with a grammar guide, but nothing else when it comes to reference tools. The software does not include dictionary, thesaurus or translator tools, nor does it include writing templates.

4) A big problem that arises here is the fact that RightWriter doesn't offer many grammar-correcting tools. You must incorporate the edits that the software suggests using your word processor.

5) Poor Support & Help: The only way you're able to contact rightwriter is through a contact form available on its website. They also offers online help and tutorials for users who want answers to their questions right away. When you get into the program, you can access the product's manual, which we found helpful and easy to read.

Ginger's customer service is perfect, if you had used grammarly, you should know ginger & grammarly are same level in excellent help & support.

Conclusion

RightWriter is adequate grammar checking software that's in need of a little modernization. Although it offers reasonably accurate and relevant edits, the software is difficult to maneuver. Incorporating the edits also requires using your own word processor. Before you purchase right writer, we highly recommend you give ginger grammar checker a try with a free trial.

If you wan to learn more grammar checker like right writer & ginger, here are some related products reviews:

Grammar Checking Software: Grammarly Vs. Whitesmoke

Ginger Software VS. Grammarly

Ginger VS. Whitesmoke

RightWriter Vs. Ginger Software

Also, you can see our top rated english writing software & grammar checker software comparisons

Grammar Software Comparison: Whitesmoke Vs. Grammarly & Ginger

Why would you need a grammar checking software? Imagine receiving a business letter and you find it has a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. You would most probably think less of the sender, wouldn’t you?

Be reminded, though, that more than 60 percent of all business communications have some kind of grammatical error like apostrophe errors, missing words, wrong spelling and more. Most of the times we do not have the patience and time to edit or proofread our work or, much less, other peoples work for a thorough grammar check. Enter grammar checking applications. Now, imagine what the readers of your letters, e-mail, business communications and other written material would think if 60 percent of your work had mistakes.

Why would you take this chance of jeopardizing all those important documents when you could get help at reducing or eliminating errors with the two most popular grammar checking program from GrammarSoftware.co.uk and Grammarly?

Here, we compare, side by side, which of the two is better

Pros:

1) One price with free lifetime (supposedly) updates.

2) Instant check, Grammarly’s results are slow to come.

3) Works with almost ALL text editors in windows. I am writing documents in LaTex, and WhiteSmoke is very convenient, I just select the text in a text editor and hit F2 and my text is tested. Grammarly should make a plug-in like that. I tried to use the MS-Office plug-in of Grammarly and took the text to the website, sorry guys but this is a fail for me.

4) Whitesmoke is not too confused when I use LaTex markups in the text. Although, Grammarly is not that far behind.

5) WhiteSmoke annotates the text instantly, and you can click on the annotation you want for more information and automatic corrections. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed from all the Grammarly prompts, in WhiteSmoke, I can just do a visual scan a click on the items I want to address.

Cons (Grammarly pros):

1) No automatic citation check, however, Grammarly it appears to check only text available on the internet and not publications, e.g. a book (I could be wrong on this).

2) More thorough review and explanations.

3) WhiteSmoke is heavily marketed, Grammarly appears to be more professional in that matter, the website is much cleaner and organized.

4) Overall, Grammarly offers better results, but WhiteSmoke is not that far behind.

Conclusion

I still like Whitesmoke for the original reasons, it is not perfect, but it improves every few months. For example, Whitesmoke 2011 now works great with both 32bit and 64bit programs.

Suggestions for Grammarlly:

• Blink speed checking

• Annotations, so one can quickly visually go after the suggestions/problems that he/she cares about the most.
• A real windows interface.

To sum up, I want the WhiteSmoke’s interface, with Grammarly’s engine. That will be the ultimate tool: ultra fast, and ultra-accurate.

Related Grammar Checker Comparisons

Grammarly Vs. Whitesmoke

Ginger VS. Whitesmoke

Ginger Software VS. Grammarly

English Grammar Tips for Plain English Writing

“It is well to remember that grammar is common speech formulated. Usage is the only test. I would prefer a phrase that was easy and unaffected to a phrase that was grammatical.”

W. Somerset Maugham

For many of us, learning how to write involved learning about grammar. StyleWriter Software does not concentrate on grammar as the key to good writing. This is not to say that grammar is not important – it is. Obviously, good writing reflects the accepted structure of the English language. However, writing can be grammatically correct but difficult to read. Similarly, readable writing may have grammatical errors but still gets its message across.

Keeping to the principles of good writing will serve you and your readers better than trying to remember all the “rules” of grammar. In fact, by following our advice, you will find using correct grammar becomes easier. For example, if you keep your average sentence length low and use active verbs, you are less likely to make grammatical errors.

The ‘Rools’ of Grammar

Harold Evans, a former editor of The Times, listed the most common errors in grammar. Each ‘rool’ contains the error it mentions.

1. Don’t use no double negative.
2. Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.
3. When dangling, watch your participles.
4. Don’t use commas, which aren’t necessary.
5. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
6. About those sentence fragments…
7. Try not to ever split infinitives.
8. Its important to use apostrophe’s correctly.
9. Always read what you have written to see if you have any words out.

10. Correct spelling is esential.

StyleWriter will not pick up all these problems (if you need grammar checking & correction software, white smoke grarmmar checker will be suitable), so you need to read your writing through to check that it is correct.

False Rules of Grammar

Despite debunking by many writing authorities, some people still stick to grammar “rules” that have no sound basis. These include:

• not starting a sentence with And or But
• not ending a sentence with a preposition [up with I will not put.]
• splitting an infinitive [to boldly go, to thoroughly check]

Although there is nothing wrong with breaking any of these “rules”, doing so can upset some people so think about your reader. StyleWriter picks up split infinitives and advises you not to split if possible. However, if avoiding a split infinitive makes your writing sound odd, leave it in. You can delete the split infinitive pattern if you don’t want StyleWriter to highlight them in your writing.

English Grammar Software & Writing Enhancement Software Reviews

A precise English writing and grammar checking tool is mandatory to bring a touch of sense and style to your work. English writing and grammar checking software provides advanced technological solution for our basic writing, english editing and proofreading needs. In this global environment where most of the daily communication takes place on the web by writing e-mails, memos or reports, we notice an increasing trend in use of advanced language writing, editing and processing tools.

Needless to say, for ever changing environment and severity of situations each instance requires a unique well deliberated and well versed communication mix to convey right words in correct construction to send across a right message in persuasive manner.

Web based tools and their downloadable versions have completely transformed the whole perspective of learning, by making it easy to get your write up checked online for grammatical errors through a grammar checker service. Further you have the option of downloading a variety of templates. All of this helps in building compositions, correct use of phrases, and rephrasing our English sentences to make an accurate, clear, and fluent communication piece.

The sophisticated language processing technology has recently made a significant progress. Now, it has plenty to offer: such as suggesting corrections for common grammar and punctuation problems, spell checking, and suggesting ways to enrich your text. Similarly there are many paid programs that have a claimed reputation of delivering value in return to your investment. These are mostly preferred because these are easy to use; all you need to do is copy and paste your text at a specified area of the window to check for errors.

Online checking software doesn’t require installation of any program locally and it is a lot faster, easier and time saving proposition with no squandering of time involved in waiting for the installation to be over and done. English writing software provide a wide array of services including checking for errors in spellings, grammar, punctuation, composition and also suggesting alternatives to better writing.

However, these software have certain limitations. Since there are a number of expressions that have multiple meanings, context and usage of word that directly affect the tone of a sentence. So it is almost impossible right now to say that any software can read author’s mind and make contextual corrections but still it enables user in identifying sentence construction problems that may have been missed during manual proofreading.

Now let’s have a quick review of some highly acclaimed software in the art of editing, style and grammar check, available on the World Wide Web. Software like StyleWriter, White Smoke, Pro-Grammar, Grammar Expert etc. teaches how to cut the waffle, and how to turn a draft into clear and concise English by persuading users to change their deep-seated style. It persuades writers to produce prose that helps readers – effectively and briefly. StyleWriter has a mechanism of analyzing the writings for 35,000 known styles and common usage faults. It also highlights complex words and suggests simpler alternatives; it draws attention to abstract words, confused and misused words that can cause grammatical errors.

Whitesmoke & Ginger software is both grammar checker and writing enhancement software.

Stylewriter is not for grammar correction & checking, but the writing software to help improve the quality and clarity of written communication.

More About English Writing Software, See English Improvement, Writing Enhancement Software Reviews

Grammar Checker & Grammar Checking Software Reviews

Comparing items is easy. The top rated product is shown to the immediate right. Products can be removed by clicking on the link above each summary panel. Icon meanings: = Great = OK = Weak	Whitesmoke Writer 2010	Stylewriter Writing Software	Ginger Software Premium
	read review	read review	read review
	G E T N O W	G E T N O W	G E T N O W
Price	$299.95	$160.00	$149.00
Has Free Trial
Creator	WhiteSmoke	Editor Software	Ginger Software
Easy to Use	All-in-One Writing Solutions	Easy write plain enlgish	Writing in a Single Click
Look & Feel
Has Demo
Supported OS	XP,VISTA,Windows 7,Mac Os	XP,VISTA,Windows 7	XP,VISTA,Windows 7
30 Days Refund
Help/Support	Email Support, Tutorials, Phone Support, Online Help, Live Chat	Email Support, Tutorials	Email Support, Tutorials
Software Compatibility	Word, Outlook, IE, Acrobat Reader, FirFox	Word, Outlook	Word, Outlook, IE
Usage Compatability	Business/Excutive, Medical, Creative, Research	Business/Excutive, Medical, Creative, Plain English	Business/Excutive, Medical, Creative, Dyslexia
Reference Tools	Text Enrichment, English Learning Course, Writing Templates, Language Translator, Thesaurus, Dictionary	Text Enrichment, English Writing Course, Writing Templates,	Text Enrichment
Editing Correction	Spell, Grammar, Editing Suggestions, Correction Report, Checks Redundancy, Passive Verb, Overused Words, Clarity/Precision, Wordy Phrases	Spell, Grammar, Editing Suggestions, Correction Report, Checks Redundancy, Passive Verb, Overused Words, Clarity/Precision, Wordy Phrases, Plain English Suggestions	Spell, Grammar, Editing Suggestions, Checks Redundancy, Passive Verb, Overused Words, Clarity/Precision, Wordy Phrases
Suitable For:	Anyone Who Write In English	Technical Writing, Advertising CopyWriting, Policies & Procedures Writing, Legal Documents Writing, Essays & Research Papers Wrting, Business Letters Writing	Students, English Learners, People with dyslexia
	G E T N O W	G E T N O W	G E T N O W
	detail page	detail page	detail page

Whitesmoke Writing Assistant for English Grammar

Statistics show that over 40 million Americans suffer from adult dyslexia - that's 15% of the entire population. Combined with other writing difficulties, we can see the real need for an intelligent writing correction solution that understands the type of mistakes made by these writers.

	Non-dyslexic 226,666,667
	Dyslexic 40,000,000

Whitesmoke Writing Assistant has been design to correct the writing of those with dyslexia and other writing difficulties. Features include:

1. Specialized correction algorithms
2. Text-to-Speech module to clarify words
3. Works inside MS Word and MS Outlook

Whitesmoke Writing Assistant Features

WhiteSmoke Writing Assistant is the perfect tool for difficulties with spelling:

1. Specialized Spelling Correction
   Algorithms developed for common mistakes by dyslexics.
2. Audio Snippets
   Hear a full text, and hear replacement words.
3. Results Sorted By Accuracy
   All spelling suggestions are sorted by their suitability to the context of the sentence.
4. Integrated with MS Word
   Writing Assistant is always just a click away in MS Word.
5. Includes Word Search
   Check the validity of a word suggestion via built in Google search.

Who Use Whitesmoke Writing Assistant

1. People with Dyslexia and Other Writing Difficulties
   Based on research into the types of errors people with dyslexia and other writing difficulties make when writing, WhiteSmoke Writing Assistant brings a new level of confidence to these writers at home and at the workplace.
2. International Business
   English spelling can be very difficult for new learners. WhiteSmoke Writing Assistant has proved very successful at detecting the mistakes of new English learners, helping speed up their language acquisition.
3. Children and Youth with Spelling Difficulties
   The non-standard aspects of English spelling can be confusing – Writing Assistant can help children and youth learn efficiently via audio and text, streamlining their learning process.

Whitesmoke Writing Assistant Reviews & Testimonials

My English is quite good, but I still manage to catch a lot of errors with WhiteSmoke, so it is a big help.
— Bjorn Nillson, Sweden

I am learning ESL and WhiteSmoke really helps. My writing improves daily, and the corrections it makes help me learn English writing.
— Kim Sung Mo, Korea

I have a blog in English, and WhiteSmoke catches all my grammar and spelling errors before I publish. My writing is more confident, and my readers love the content.
— Hans Spielberg, Germany

More whitesmoke reviews, click here!

Whitesmoke Writing Assistant Special Offer

Regular Price: $299

Special introductory Price : $89.95

Related Writing Software Product

Stylewriter Writing Software.

Best plain english writing software for large organizations, school, and business company. First choice for copywriters, More plain writing, More Sales!

Ginger Software Premium

Ginger is the great writing solution available for people with dyslexia.Ginger has been tested on texts written by people with dyslexia, and its accuracy in correcting their errors far surpasses all other tools available today！

Compare Whitesmoke, Stylewriter & Ginger Writing Software!

Ginger Grammar Checker Software Review

Want to correct all your spelling and grammar mistakes automatically, without wasting time or effort?

Want to look smarter?

Get smart! Put Ginger software to work for you at home, school or office. Avoid embarrassing mistakes in your written English.

Perfect Writing in a Single Click!

What is Ginger Software?

Ginger is a spell and grammar correction software. Lexington, Mass. (June 15, 2009) – The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) named Ginger Software, Inc., one of five award recipients in the 2009 Technology in the Works competition.

The award program recognizes excellence in research proposals for short-term, quasi-experimental evaluations that analyze the impact of learning and assistive technologies, i.e., tools that strengthen capabilities and increase access for individuals with disabilities.

Ginger Software offers an easy-to-use online tool designed for struggling writers of all ages, which uses patent-pending technology to correct spelling mistakes and misused words automatically.

Ginger Software have 2 versions: Ginger & Ginger Premium

Ginger

Ginger Software is a powerful writing and proofreading solution for people who want to communicate effectively and to enhance the quality of their written English. Ginger corrects entire sentences with a single click, correcting all types of mistakes, from severe spelling mistakes to misused words and a wide range of grammar mistakes. It operates as an add-on for all major writing platforms, including MS-Word, MS-Outlook, and will soon support Internet Explorer as well . It is ideally suited for schoolwork, business tasks, and all personal writing needs.

Free Download

Buy a Single User Lisense, Just $99

Ginger Premium

Ginger Premium is a virtual English tutor that checks and corrects your spelling and grammar automatically. The Ginger Premium is the premier version of the software. It includes the contextual spelling and grammar checker of the core product, along with a text-to-speech reader that reads your texts aloud before and after Ginger corrections. It also includes an error statistics reporting tool. Ginger Premium will take your writing to even higher levels at home, school or work.

Free Download

Buy a Single User Lisense, Just $129

Ginger Software Features

• Contextual Spell & Grammar Checker
• Full-Sentence Correction
• Misused Words Correction
• Text-To-Speech (Ginger Premium)
• Progress Reports (Ginger Premium)

Ginger Software Reviews & Testimonials

“Ginger Software is an innovative and easy to use assistive technology for students with writing disabilities. I would highly recommend to add Ginger to your A.T. toolkit.” - B. Friedlander, Ph.D., NJ, USA

“What a great product! My husband is using Ginger at work and says it catches everything!” - Cindy, U.S.A

“Wonderful!! Have been hoping such would be developed. Would purchase it right now for all my dyslexic students.” - Anonymous, Australia

“Thank you so very much. I have been looking for this for 30 years and now I feel I got something which I could use. This software is the answer to a lot of problems.” - T. Larkin, London, UK

“I’ve lived with a disability my whole life and it is hard to hide it, especially at work. With Ginger I’m able to write and spell like a person my age. You have no idea how big of a part you have played in my life. Thank you!” - Stephen, TX, USA

“Ginger Software is an innovative and easy to use assistive technology for students with writing disabilities. I would highly recommend to add Ginger to your A.T. toolkit.” - B. Friedlander, Ph.D., NJ, USA

“Ginger makes the writing of error-free text a real possibility, for the first time, for many dyslexics.” - Bernadette McLean, Principal, Helen Arkell Centre

Ginger is an intelligent spell checker that identifies and fixes all your mistakes. Ginger recognizes words in context and provides the most appropriate corrections for spelling and grammar mistakes according to the intended meaning of your sentence. Ginger can tell when a correctly spelled word is misused and replaces it with the right word.

Once installed, Ginger is simple to use. It works within any Microsoft text or mail editor, such as Word and Outlook, and will soon support Internet Explorer as well. It requires an Internet connection to access the online database that powers the software. That’s all Ginger needs.

At the click of a button, Ginger starts correcting your document. Unlike spell checkers that halt at each mistake and prompt you for a correction, Ginger simultaneously corrects all the errors in an entire sentence. It pauses only after the sentence is corrected. The resulting text correction is faster and more effective.

Occasionally, when Ginger is unable to determine the proper term, it suggests the most probable corrections. Each option is presented with a sample expression, allowing you to consider the usage and to choose the correct word.

If you have difficulty writing in English, for any reason, get Ginger to help you. Overcome the challenge of spelling mistakes and grammar errors. Write documents perfectly, and make yourself proud!

Ginger Software Vs. Whitesmoke

Whitesmoke has a cheaper price than Ginger Software, and if your computer installed mac OS, whitesmoke is a only choice!

Click Here Read Reviews and Top Rated Writing Software Comparisons

But if you want best spell/grammar checker or more professional writing solution, i highly suggest you try Ginger software. Ginger software is best choice for young students, english language learners.

And

Ginger is a Amazing Spelling Tool for Dyslexia

Get it Now!

Style Writer - a plain english writing software, not only a grammar checker

Click Here Read Reviews and Top Rated Writing Software Comparisons

I first encountered Style Writer tucked away unpretentiously at the back of a computer exhibition. It was competing for attention with a virtual reality game, free teddy bears, and a reconstruction of a Parisian cafe. At least you could tell what the StyleWriter stand was promoting. I liked it already.

The package comes from the UK-based company Editor Software. "StyleWriter is designed for people who do a lot of writing, but wouldn't necessarily consider themselves writers", according to the program designers. I'm sure it could benefit many people who do consider themselves writers.

As a manual writer myself, I believe that good software needs a good manual. When a product claims to help with writing style, its manual is doubly important. The StyleWriter (CD) manual is excellent. It is clear, to the point, and gives you every confidence in the claims of the software.

The package is easy to use; you certainly don't have to be a computer genius. It accepts text directly from the most popular word processing packages or through the clipboard. If you have a little computer experience its use is pretty intuitive, but the computerized manual and tutorial provide thorough backup.

StyleWriter has two kinds of online help. Predictably, one is about using the program. The other is like having the Chicago Manual of Style at your fingertips. For example, if you forget how to use the exclamation mark correctly, advice is available at the press of a key.

As it checks your text, StyleWriter looks for stylistic horrors such as long sentences and passive constructions. It also watches for sexist language, jargon and foreign terms amongst a host of other problems. It checks for up to 26 different categories of stylistic and proofreading pitfalls. The house style category lets you include your own organization's style rules for checking.

StyleWriter is undoubtedly useful for anyone who writes, not just technical authors. It takes the hard slog out of editing, and draws your attention to stylistic faults you probably didn't know you had. In an ideal world, every technical author would have a copy of it.

The Manual
Anne Bradbeer reviews a software package that should bring a touch of style to your work.

White Smoke Review

The White Smoke software is available as a download and works with any program. You can paste text in and copy it out, or simply compose in the compose window. I tried the online demo, and there are some minor differences from the downloadable product. However, most of the main features are the same.

So, what does it look like? It’s a bit like Word, Google Docs and other word processing programs. It’s got a simple array of formatting buttons across the top for editing style, font and font size, followed by buttons for bold, italics, underline, creating coloured text and a few more. The second row has buttons for alignment, bullets and numbering, and cutting and pasting. A cool feature is that it will paste text from Word or plain text depending on the button you choose.

The top of the window has three tabs on the left (enrichment, dictionary and templates) plus two on the right for information. The templates window allows you to load one of 600 templates in the commercial, literary, medical or legal categories and customise them for your needs. The dictionary is a lookup window and the main window, where you write and edit text, is enrichment. At the bottom of a window is a WhiteSmoke button, as well as undo, redo and demo buttons. The bottom right allows you to select the type of writing you are doing (great for those interested in business and literary, less so for those of us who blog for a living) If you’re writing a speech, dissertation or letter, you’re covered too. On to the main window.

Grammar Checking

You can use WhiteSmoke with any application, since it works with cut and paste, and you can also set it to check as you type. When you paste some text in, and hit one of those two buttons you get some text underlined in different colours. The colour code is blue for enrichment/thesaurus, green for grammar and red for spelling, cleverly following MS Word conventions. Here is where it gets interesting. Click on or hover over an underlined word and you get suggestions for improvement. So, how did WhiteSmoke do? I used it to check three articles I was writing for a client.

It picked up well on spelling errors. I use UK English, so it tried to convert them to US English. It found no grammatical errors - I had to insert a deliberate mistake to test that. That’s a major improvement over Word, which always finds grammatical errors where there are none. For me, the winner was the enrichments popup menu. That’s in two parts. The left suggests adjectives and adverbs you can add to enrich your writing, while the right suggests synonyms. Just click to add your changes. I liked some of the suggestions and can see where this type of software would help people who struggle with writing.

There are several different WhiteSmoke products aimed respectively at general writing, business writing, creative writing, legal writing, medical writing and executive writing, as well as a language translator that offers instant translation into 20 languages. There are also pro versions with additional enhancements (currently on sale for $1 when you buy the main program).

White Smoke is a useful product, especially for people who are new to writing or who have English as a second language. Even experienced writers will find it useful on a day when the words just aren’t flowing the way you want.

Click Here Read Reviews and Top Rated Writing Software Comparisons

white smoke grammar software review

White Smoke is a program that aims to help its users produce better-written documents. It does this by analyzing the spelling, punctuation and grammar in any document, and then suggesting corrections and possible improvements. White Smoke is compatible with Microsoft Windows ME, Windows2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. It will work in almost any text-based application, including word processors, email programs, web-based forms, and so on.

Once White Smoke is installed on your PC, you use it as follows. First, you create your text in your chosen application (e.g. Microsoft Word). Select the text you want to analyze by highlighting it in the normal way, then press the White Smoke shortcut key. This is set by default to F2, though you can change it if you like. In Word a separate “Enrichment” button is created on the toolbar, and you can click on this as an alternative to pressing the shortcut key.

White Smoke will then open in a new window, with your selected text in a box in the middle. Spelling mistakes are highlighted in red and grammar mistakes in green. When you move the cursor over any item, suggested corrections (a range of them) appear in a box at the foot of the screen. You can accept or reject any correction just by clicking on it.

Perhaps the most interesting feature for writers, however, is the enrichment function. The White Smoke software analyzes your writing and looks for ways it could be improved, e.g. by using an alternate word or phrase (thesaurus function), or by adding extra words. All candidates for enrichment are highlighted in blue in the White Smoke window, and suggested additions and alternatives are shown in the boxes below. Again, you are at liberty to accept or reject any change. Once you have gone through all the program’s suggestions, just save the changes and close WhiteSmoke, and the corrected and “enriched” version will automatically appear in the original application.

Overall, I was impressed with how easy White Smoke was to use, and its effectiveness. Obviously Word does have its own spelling and grammar checkers, but WhiteSmoke’s appear to work better. This is especially so with the grammar checker, which is far more user-friendly than Word’s. The “Enrichment” function is particularly good for revealing ways in which text can be improved. Obviously not all the changes the software suggests will be appropriate, but simply seeing the suggested alternatives can jolt you out of using the same old words and expressions, and give your writing a new, fresher feel.

The version of White Smoke I evaluated was the standard one, which is really aimed at business users. It would still be useful for writers, but White Smoke also offer a version of the software specially tailored for use by creative writers. If you’re a novelist or short story writer, this would probably be the version to go for. It has a larger vocabulary than the standard version, and is less likely to suggest inserting business-related terms such as inventory and turnover into your sensitive description of a woodland sunset…

Are there any drawbacks to White Smoke? Well, a possible one for some users is that you need to have an Internet connection open while you are using it. White Smoke say this is because the program’s database is constantly updated via the web. For most users this is unlikely to present problems, but if you regularly use your computer off-line, it might be a bit frustrating.

White Smoke is probably ideally suited for writers who are buzzing with ideas but know that they have a few shortcomings in grammar, punctuation, and so on. Even if you’re reasonably confident in these areas, however, White Smoke can give you a fresh perspective, and suggestions for improving passages of text you may have become “bogged down” on.

For more information about White Smoke, click on any of the links in this article to visit their sales site. Watch out for their regular special offers!

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