The quest for style

“The quest for style” is reprinted, with permission, from PC Magazine. It describes software currently available for analyzing and editing the style of word-processed documents, usually those written by nonprofessional communicators. It thus has the potential to be helpful to the engineering community, as more and more of its members find themselves creating their own documentation on their personal computers. Additionally, it is important for professional communicators to know what style-editing software can and cannot do, in order to make judgments — and help others make judgments — as to the documents and situations for which their use is most appropriate. — J.G.N.