Are Softwares helpful
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Are Softwares helpful
- moderntimes
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Nothing substitutes for the author carefully searching the text for typos and other errors.
- webworkz7
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- moderntimes
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Software can help with clear mechanical errors, such as "speling" or "misatke" and other typos. But English is too complex for any computer program which we can buy for our own PCs to ferret out all the small mistakes we can make. The only true way to fix all the errors is for the human author to read and read and again read the text until all errors are eliminated.
However, I do run a spellcheck with MS-Word on my writing to find obvious errors, like misspellings due to reversing letters when I type, typical mechanical mistakes. But style and higher level errors must be corrected by the mind of the author or perhaps a proofreader.
- pafjlh
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- moderntimes
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And yes, reading aloud helps. Even if there are no errors, there are adjustments in the writing which can affect the timing, the pace, the rhythm of the text, and reading aloud is a great help for such small tweaks.
Regardless, the author must be the original spellchecker. Ultimate responsibility is the author's task.
- DATo
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A suggestion:uk8971 wrote:Are software helpful while checking International Grammar. Can they be trusted 1005. I don't because without naming any I can say I have used a few and found them too robotic. In few tricky situations the software fails completely and throws up bookish meaning of a word which is completely irrelevant and deviates from the ongoing topic bringing in frustration to the writer.
I can almost guarantee you that trusting a computer program to check international grammar will result in errors. If you are serious about publishing a novel in which such concerns arise I would suggest taking your work to a university and meeting with a professor who teaches the language in question to ask if they could recommend a student to help you with your problem (for a fee of course). If the student gets into trouble they will almost undoubtably refer the question to the professor so you can be reasonably sure that the results will be accurate - or at least more accurate than a computer program. This method also serves to build contacts in academia which, as an author, may prove useful in other ways. I think this would be a far better way to invest your money.
― Steven Wright
- moderntimes
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I don't understand the term "international grammar". Sorry.
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- moderntimes
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- Anitasg1
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Point well taken and there is no substitute for that. I noticed myself is spell check and different apps that there are grammar and spelling errors that are missed and the writer has to go over it themselves as well. As they say, the more pairs of eyes, the better.moderntimes wrote:I always say that the most accurate proofreading and editing system is the grey matter between the ears. There's no substitute for knowing the English language and having the cognizance to fix all the mechanical errors in the manuscript. (or whichever original language is being used)
- moderntimes
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But no spellcheck or other electronic means, just the ol' brain, bubbling along.
By the way, my final review of my own manuscript was sent to the publisher in MS-Word with "Track Changes" on, the edited version will use that Word feature, and therefore any editing final tweaks will show up on the screen with my option to accept or reject ("stet") and then the book's on its way to the printer.
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- moderntimes
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