writing software

[historian]

I have to do a lot of descriptive writing but i tend to write as if i were debating someone and so the silly innocuous grammatical mistakes slip through. Can anyone recommend any software which will comb the entire composition and correct any errors including grammar, syntax and citation errors? dont want to pay too much perhaps in the 30.00$ range?
thanks to anyone who answers

[Ineeda]

1. I'm not aware of such software,

but if you want to be a better writer, you must slow down, write carefully and edit meticulously. Then, if the situation allows, have someone you trust make further editorial suggestions. Sometimes I take a full day (off and on to collect my thoughts) to write a LLTE and I spend significant time even on posts to this message board. I assume this writing you do is for work? If so, you probably don't have the luxury of time, but nothing is worse than sloppy writing. Good luck.

[Ineeda]

2. On edit

Sorry, there's lots of things worse than sloppy writing. But if you're a writer, it's right up there.

[Orrex]

3. At present, no software can reliably take the place of careful writing and a good editor

As Ineeda correctly pointed out, the first step is to slow down.

Your trouble might not simply be grammar and syntax; you may have problems with composition.

[Chan790]

4. Nope...

I generally disagree with the slow-down-to-write advice, especially if you're writing professionally (Academic writing is professional writing, yes.) and tell my students (I tutor writers) to just write, don't worry about any of those things; just write. Otherwise you'll get so hung up on perfect sentences and perfect word-choices and perfect grammar and perfect citations and perfect punctuation that you'll not actually write much of anything...the writer James Joyce is known to have been a notorious writing-perfectionist of that sort; despite writing three very-long novels, academics have figured it out...over the time he wrote them, he averaged something like 6 words a day after all the revisions, retractions, changes and editing. Once you're done writing, edit. Write first, edit second.

Any of those things you are concerned about can be fixed by a good editor. I assume that you are both capable of identifying quality writing when it is not your own and a decent editor in your own right. If so, find a editing-buddy, someone to read your finished work before it sees the light of day purely for the purpose of catching those errors. You in turn do the same for their writing output. (You'll find after you've been dong it for a few weeks that you can knock out 10 pages or so in the time it takes to microwave lunch or walk to the bus stop...it's not an onerous process at all because you're not really reading for comprehension.) The key there is that you cannot criticize content or argument, that's not what this process is for...this is editing syntax, citation and grammar. Having someone else read for these will always catch things you missed as the writer.

Take the red-marked copy and revise based upon the notes. If you question an editorial decision, pick up the phone and ask why they made that decision. It's fine to disagree about these things...ultimately, you're the last call because your name is going on the author-line.

[Brickbat]

5. $30 will get you an hour's read by an editor.

That's starting to be at kind of the low end and wouldn't give your writing the deep correction it might need. I'm a freelance editor and I have people trying to get by with a light edit when it really needs some work.