As reported right here yesterday, the authorized enhancing software program WordRake launched a brand new model 4.0 that expands its performance, provides new pricing choices for less-frequent customers, and introduces a brand new Simplicity enhancing mode for simplifying complicated language.
With this launch, WordRake now has two enhancing modes: Brevity and Simplicity. You would possibly think about the Brevity mode to be “basic” WordRake, in that it does what WordRake has at all times executed — recommend edits that may make a doc extra concise.
The brand new Simplicity mode focuses on making recommendations designed to simplify complicated language. It converts jargon, bureaucratic language and tough phrases into phrases which might be extra acquainted, WordRake says.
Examine WordRake within the LawNext Authorized Expertise Listing.
In earlier weblog posts, I’ve examined WordRake by utilizing it to guage steered edits to Supreme Court docket opinions. To learn these earlier critiques, see:
WordRake gave me a preview copy of this new model 4.0, so, consistent with these prior posts, I made a decision to do the identical.
Having lately used a distinct authorized enhancing software program, BriefCatch, on the leaked draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade (I Ran Justice Alito’s Draft Abortion Opinion by means of the BriefCatch Authorized Enhancing Software program. Right here’s What Occurred), I selected one other controversial opinion from the court docket’s most-recent time period, the Second Modification case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Affiliation v. Bruen, written by Justice Clarence Thomas.
‘Raking’ the Opinion
I downloaded the PDF and transformed it to Phrase, chosen WordRake’s new Simplicity mode, and hit the Rake button. It took roughly 10 minutes for WordRake to investigate the prolonged opinion (132 pages in Phrase, together with dissents). When it was executed, it instructed me that it had analyzed 2,585 sentences and made 232 recommendations.
In equity, a Supreme Court docket opinion is probably not the perfect doc for testing the Simplicity mode, because it has most definitely been by means of a number of rounds of enhancing and editors earlier than it’s launched to the general public. Alternatively, if an enhancing program can discover methods to scrub up a doc corresponding to a Supreme Court docket opinion, think about what it will possibly do on your transient.
What Simplicity mode discovered had been quite a few repetitive and relativity minor enhancing recommendations. They included, for instance:
- Change “possess” to “have”
- Change “nonetheless” to “nonetheless.” (Notably, when nonetheless appeared in a quoted phrase, WordRake didn’t recommend altering it.)
- Change “demonstrates” to “exhibits” (or “exhibit” to “present”)
- Change “permits him to hold” to “lets him carry”
- Change “doesn’t suffice” to “shouldn’t be sufficient”
- Change “has not demonstrated” to “has not proven”
- Change “precludes” to “prevents”
- Change “reiterated” to “repeated” (or “reiterate” to “repeat”)
- Change “prior determination” to “previous determination”
- Change “preliminary conclusion” to “first conclusion”
- Change “tried to” to “tried to”
- Change “for example” to “for instance”
- Change “due to this fact” to “so”
- Change “confine” to “restrict”
- Change “seems to” to “appears to”
- Change “permitted” to “allowed”
- Change “make use of” to “use”
- Change “supplied” to “acknowledged”
As you possibly can see, not one of the recommendations are notably substantive, however that could be the purpose, and it definitely could also be because of the nature of the doc I analyzed.
As I’ve beforehand famous in writing about this and different authorized enhancing applications, customers ought to by no means blindly settle for an enhancing program’s recommendations, as they’re typically incorrect. Within the snippet above, for instance, the steered change of “possessing a” to “with a,” leads to a sentence that is not sensible.
Equally on this instance, the change of “methodology” to “strategies” adjustments the that means to one thing the writer didn’t intend.
Right here is yet another instance, the place WordRake suggests altering the phrase “justices of the peace” to only the one phrase “justices.” The issue, in fact, is that these are phrases of artwork which have totally different meanings.
I additionally ran the doc by means of the unique Brevity mode. This time, it took 11 minutes, and from the two,585 sentences it analyzed, it made 499 recommendations.
Most of the recommendations in Brevity mode had been the identical as these in Simplicity mode, corresponding to altering “nonetheless” to “nonetheless” and the like. A lot of different recommendations had been to eradicate transitional phrases and phrases corresponding to “furthermore” or “in different phrases.” Elsewhere, it steered a distinct transition, corresponding to altering “that mentioned” to “nevertheless.”
Right here once more, WordRake made some faulty recommendations. For one, it beneficial altering the phrase, “the courts usually proceed to step two,” to, “the courts usually step two.”
If I accepted the entire recommendations in Brevity mode (with out regard as to whether I ought to settle for them), it lowered the phrase rely from 42,448 phrases to 41,564, or 884 phrases.
Backside Line
Using any enhancing software program needs to be guided by your individual editorial judgment. Simply because a program says it’s best to do one thing, that doesn’t at all times imply it’s best to.
That mentioned, my experiences utilizing WordRake recommend that it may be a helpful product for honing and enhancing one’s writing. Not solely does it present an additional degree of assessment on your writing, however it will possibly additionally present you how one can make your writing extra concise and direct. Given its inexpensive value, and particularly with its new month-to-month pricing, it’s value including to your toolkit.
