The Writer's Workbench: Computer Aids for Text Analysis

This paper describes the Writer's Workbench programs, which analyze English prose and suggest improvements. Some limited data on the use of the Writer's Workbench and its acceptance are also presented. The Writer's Workbench incorporates the style and diction programs, described in a previous paper of this TRANSACTIONS, into a more extensive system to help writers improve their writing. The system runs under the UNIX
^TM
operating system, and includes programs to: 1) proofread, 2) comment on stylistic features of text, and 3) provide reference information about the English language. Among other writing faults, the programs detect split infinitives, errors in spelling and punctuation, overly long sentences, wordy phrases, and passive sentences.