Have you heard about Hemingway? No, not the writer. I meant the app.
This is an app which I have found helpful in writing clearly. And there are at least 4 ways it can help you also.
1. It detects where you use a Passive voice as against an Active voice. Passive voice results when the form of a verb used makes the subject in a sentence to receive the action rather than perform it. For example: ‘The ball was kicked by Femi’ has the same meaning as ‘Femi kicked the ball’.
In the first sentence, the subject ‘the ball’ receives the action of ‘kick’, whereas in the second sentence, ‘Femi’, who is the subject, performs the action on ‘the ball.
The first one is in the passive voice, uses more words, and sounds weak. The second sentence is in the active voice, uses fewer words and conveys a stronger expression.
Want to delve deeper into this? Check out a great resource here.
2. It flags excessive use of Adverbs. Adverbs modify verbs. This means they give you more information about the action which the verb indicates.
For instance:
- He walked slowly to work.
- Segun drove very fast to his house.
- Nike shouted angrily at her brother.
Now, compare them with the following:
- He strolled to work.
- Segun sped home.
- Nike bawled at her brother.
The highlighted words in the first set of statements are adverbs. They take longer to read. The second set uses stronger verbs which paint vivid images of the action without using extra words.
By recommending minimal use of adverbs, the app helps make your writing strong and concise.
3. It helps avoid clumsy statements. A key benefit of the app is in making writing clear. It flags clumsy sentences, difficult expressions, and offers simpler suggestions that will be easier for your audience to understand. When you use a long or difficult word, it highlights it and suggests a shorter alternative.
4. Finally, the app will also show the Readability level of your content. The readability level is the ease with which a reader can understand a written text. This is very important as it indicates how clearly you will be communicating with your audience. The lower the score, the more readable your text is.
Try it out here, and let me know what you think.
Dayo Adewoye 