Over the last decade, several tools have been developed to help us write more clearly and comprehensively.
Spellcheckers are perfect in some ways, but they do not really address the stated goal.
Grammar checkers have emerged, but they also have a problem: they stick too closely to the original texts and often leave our cumbersome formulations intact – especially when we are not native speakers.
The translation tools have become better than ever, but we still want to rewrite the translations to make them more readable. One tool was missing… especially for non-native speakers.
The writing process
Reviewing, revising and rewriting are the most difficult parts of the writing process. At the same time there is usually no one around to help us.
Rewriting is particularly important to improve readability. The focus in this phase is on revising the structure and content. You use the ideas from the previous step to rewrite your text and improve structure and content. You may need to explain things more clearly or add more details. You may even need to change your organisation to make your text more logical.
Ideally, we would like to use a tool to rewrite each of our paragraphs to the level of a native speaker who is highly competent in written communication in English. As the author of the text, however, we would like to retain control over our writing and be able to accept or reject certain suggestions.
Writing and editing tool
With the help of artificial intelligence we can raise the level of communication to a much higher level. InstaText helps us to achieve this. In addition to correcting grammatical errors, InstaText also enriches the text with suggestions for improving vocabulary and using words more appropriately.
If necessary, InstaText transforms the whole sentence and puts it into the context of the text. It creates far more ideas and offers “deeper” ways to improve the text than any other tool currently available. In a sense, it provides a competent interlocutor with whom we can improve our texts in real time, but of course, as the author of the text, we can choose whether or not we agree with the suggestions.
Writing clearly and concisely
Take academic writing, for example. In their latest book published by Springer, 100 Tips to Avoid Mistakes in Academic Writing and Presenting by Adrian Wallwork and Anna Southern, the authors point out: “It is a mistake to think that good grammar and appropriate vocabulary are the key to a good paper.”
Instead, they suggest: “You will increase your chances of acceptance of your manuscript if referees and journal editors (i) find your paper easy to read; (ii) understand what gap you filled and how your findings differ from the literature. You need to meet their expectations with regard to how your content is organized. This is achieved by writing clearly and concisely, and by carefully structuring not only each section, but also each paragraph and each sentence.”
More tips for successful writing
Clarity and conciseness are especially important for complex texts such as important emails, articles, reviews, marketing materials, blog posts, and project proposals, to name but a few.
When writing complex texts, the following tips may be particularly useful:
- Write to express, not to impress: Readers’ need to understand is more important than writer’s desire to grandstand.
- Choosing words and phrases: Be specific, avoid unnecessary jargon, avoid wordiness, avoid high-sounding words, provide enough detail, use exact words, avoid ambiguity and vagueness.
- Writing good sentences: Use mostly simple sentences combined with some compound sentences and occasional complex sentences; avoid as much as possible compound-complex sentences.
- Writing good paragraphs: Keep in mind coherence within paragraphs and between paragraphs. Sentences must have logical, clear and smooth lining and flow of ideas, and paragraphs that follow each other must have a clear and smooth flow of related thought.
Join InstaText community
Start using InstaText: free trial is available at https://instatext.io.
“Of course, there’s Grammarly, a writing assistant that checks the spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity of your writing, corrects common errors, and occasionally gives you suggestions for rewording. The thing about Grammarly, though, is that it’s a good proofreader, but not an editor. And, as any skilled writer will be happy to tell you, the editing is the secret.”
— Jim Stonos, Writer and Editor
“InstaText doesn’t have a multitude of functions, and that’s the beauty of it. It only does what it claims to do, and that’s to help you write like a native speaker. And it does that in the best possible way.
The beauty of this tool is also that it doesn’t replace a human editor, although I can say it’s over 95% accurate. It doesn’t rob you of the joy of coming up with ideas and putting them into words. It just helps you write more confidently, easily, and quickly.”
— Elham P. Mohammadi, Freelance Journalist, Writer and Editor
“I use InstaText mainly for academic writing. I switched from another software that did not help me write like a native English speaker – it only corrected typos, grammar, and punctuation.
InstaText, on the other hand, makes your text engaging to read, coherent, and professional-looking. Further, I feel that the paragraphs corrected by InstaText look akin to what I see in the best marketing and social psychology journals. It is a huge help for an academic writer because rather than focusing on making the text appealing, you can simply focus on what you want to say and build a logically unfolding narrative.”
— Michał Folwarczny, Researcher
