Don't have the luxury of having someone proofread what you write? Try Hemingway, a free tool that helps clarify your writing by analyzing the text for the number of ...
- sentences that are hard to read
- sentences that are very hard to read
- adverbs (aim for 2 or fewer)
- words or phrases than can be simpler
- uses of passive voice (aim for 2 or fewer)
... and totals these up to assign a grade level and overall readability score.
Just go to Hemingway, and
- Click the blue Edit button
- Click in the center of the page where the existing text ("Hemingway App makes your writing bold and clear.") is, and press Ctrl + A to mark it for deletion.
- Press Ctrl + X to delete the existing text, and you'll see "Enter text..."
- Go to your document and press Ctrl + C to copy everything you want Hemingway to check
- Press Ctrl + V to paste the text right onto the web page.
Then based on Hemingway's feedback, edit, edit, edit until your message gets easier to read.
“I have never thought of myself as a good writer. But I’m one of the world’s great rewriters.”
~ James A. Michener
You might also like Copyblogger's Ernest Hemingway’s Top 5 Tips for Writing Well.
P.S. Back in 2009 I wrote about a similar tool called Bullfighter that pointed out jargon in Word and PowerPoint documents, but that free tool seems to have disappeared since then.
Hat tip to
• Hemingway Helps You Analyze Your Writing at Free Technology for Teachers
• BrainyQuote for the Michener quote