![]() ![]() A seven-day free trial is available through the WordRake website. Both can be purchased together for $199 for one year. The WordRake add-ins for Word and Outlook each cost $129 for a one-year license. If nothing else, it forces you to think about your structure and phrasing. Still, I think it can be a useful tool for improving and tightening one’s writing. In its mechanical application of rules, it risks changing the meaning of a sentence or phrase. It is unable to discern meaning, context or color. The problem with any automated editor is that it has no brain. I always urge that WordRake be used with a critical eye, reviewing each suggestion and considering whether it helps or hurts. WordRake 3 converts hundreds of dull nominalizations to lively verbs (“make a recommendation” becomes “recommend”), turns negative statements into positive statements (“the auditor didn’t find any discrepancies” becomes “the auditor found no discrepancies”), and removes windy “windups” (“It should be stated that” and “Please note that”). WordRake “rakes” your documents in search of unnecessary and obtuse words, suggesting edits to improve clarity and concision. WordRake was originally created specifically for lawyers by Gary Kinder, a lawyer and writer whose 1998 book, Ship Of Gold In The Deep Blue Sea, went to number seven on The New York Times bestseller list. I have not had a chance to do that with this latest version but I plan to in the near future.
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