🚀 go-pugleaf

In comp.windows.ms, slbst18@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Stephanie L Bearse) writes:

>  Does anyone use the grammer checkers Grammatik IV or RightWriter 4.0.  IF
>  you do could you let me know as to which one is better when working with 
>  documents using wordperfect and MWORD.  I am using both wordperfect 5.1
>  and microsoft word for DOS.  I know that Grammatik exists for windows too.
>  If you know or use these packages and think highly  or think they are a
>  waste of money please let me know.

Hi, Stephanie -

I've used the past few revisions of Grammatik and am now using Grammatik
for Windows with WordPerfect 5.1.  Reviews I've read seem to agree that
Grammatik is the best grammar checker on the market.  I haven't read a
review of the latest version of RightWriter, but there was a time when it
wouldn't let you interactively make corrections--that is, it simply added
comments to your file and then you used your word processor to make edits.
To me, this seems much clumsier than Grammatik's interactive editing on
the screen.  (But the current version of RightWriter may be better than
the one I read about.)

Be aware that, despite the vendors claims for "advanced artificial 
intelligence techniques" and such, grammar checkers are pretty moronic.
For example, Grammatik indicates every item in a bulleted list as an
incomplete sentence; it seems incapable of understanding punctuation.
Grammar checkers simply use a set of "rules" and then look for conditions
that match these rules.

Another example of Grammatik's low I.Q. is the way it repeatedly warns
you of potential problems where it is unable to make a decision.  For
example, it will warn you that you *may* be mistaking the word "that's"
for "thats"--it's too stupid to understand the context in which the word
is being used, so it wastes your time with repeated "I think you may be
making a mistake" kinds of warnings.  This quickly becomes a nuisance.
(Note that I'm mentioning these quirks in Grammatik because it's the
one I use.  From what I've read, the other products do the same things.)

In summary, I'd say the poorer your writing is, the more you can benefit
from a grammar checker.  (No insult intended.)  After being reminded of
your mistakes a few times, you will make fewer mistakes.  And the closer
to pure prose your writing is--that is, no odd punctuation and such--the
fewer "false alarms" you'll receive from a grammar checker.

Is it worth using a grammar checker?  My answer is a qualified "yes." 
Think of it as an adviser.  It will challenge your judgement, but you will
always be smarter than it is, and the final decision will be yours.  I have
a few quirks in my writing (misplaced modals, an occasional split
infinitive, and others) that Grammatik reminds me of.  In return for
each legitimate problem it finds for me, I have to tell it to skip
a dozen or so of its bogus warnings.

I posted this response to the net because I thought it might be of general
interest.  If you have specific questions, please send them via e-mail.

Regards,

Frank Calloway