Most writers develop patterns in their prose. Experts can use these patterns to calculate the likelihood that a given text was written by a particular author. For example, my weaknesses include “unfortunately” and “just.” President Obama overuses the phrase, “Let me be clear.” Does the president need our permission to be clear? I doubt anyone tries to obstruct presidential clarity.<\/p>\n
Since buying my first copy of WordPerfect for DOS, I’ve maintained macros to help locate and remove my personal textual demons. The idea is simple: automatically highlight the words and phrases I might want to revise before submitting the text to an editor. Four years ago, a student noticed the red words in an open Word document on my laptop. She asked if the highlighting was part of Word’s grammar or spellcheck features. I explained to her that when I finish writing a document I run several macros to mark potential problems.<\/p>\n
When the student asked for a copy of the macro, I was confronted with what I call the “spellcheck” question: Does automatic “editing” help students?<\/p>\n
There is a pedagogical concern when automating tasks associated with editing and revising. Teachers ask me if the automation leads to “laziness” among writers. I do not believe so. Using automation to highlight my weaknesses has helped me avoid the words and phrases during the writing process. In many ways, the word processor is acting as a coach. The macro I use does not change my words, nor does it suggest changes. Instead, I must decide if the highlighted words should be changed or removed. Sometimes, I leave the original words.<\/p>\n
My students have found that customizing the macro for their individual writing patterns helps them discover patterns they didn’t suspect existed. There are ways to generate “word frequency” tables, showing students which words they use most in a text. The frequency charts reveal “lots” of “really” abused words. Students are fascinated by this. The idea that a writer has a unique “voice” magically registers with students at that moment.<\/p>\n
I am not opposed to automating editing tasks. No statistics instructor I know would oppose using Microsoft Excel macros. Creating the macros requires understanding the underlying concepts. A student has to understand what an adverb is and does before appreciating why some adverbs are “weak” word choices.<\/p>\n
Below you will find the AppleScript I use when writing. When Microsoft shipped Office 2008 for the Mac, I had to convert my simple Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro to AppleScript. This conversion was also an opportunity to add functionality to the macro. I’ve been asked to cut word counts, reduce complexity, and target a broader audience. I added Word functions that help me meet the requirements of my editors.<\/p>\n
\nNote: The AppleScript Editor has moved several times in OS X. In 10.6, the editor is located in the “Utilities” folder. You can use Spotlight to find the AppleScript Editor, if all else fails.<\/p>\n
If you use MS Word for the Mac, the script I crafted can be copied and saved to the following folder:<\/p>\n
~\/Documents\/Microsoft User Data\/Word Script Menu Items\/\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
-- Mark likely problems within a document\n-- C. S. Wyatt 2010\n--\n-- List of Words to Mark as Potential Problems \nset markWords to {\"about\", \"all\", \"almost\", \"a lot\", \"already\", \"always\", \"along with\", \"anxiously\", ¬\n\"absolutely\", \"as well\", \"believe\", \"certainly\", \"clearly\", ¬\n\"eagerly\", \"easy\", \"easily\", \"every\", \"feel\", \"felt\", \"few\", \"finally\", \"frequently\", ¬\n\"good\", \"got\", \"intrigued\", \"intrigues\", \"just\", ¬\n\"many\", \"merely\", \"must\", \"nearly\", \"need\", \"never\", \"nice\", \"not\", \"numerous\", ¬\n\"only\", \"quick\", \"quickly\", \"so\", \"think\", ¬\n\"utilize\", \"utilized\", \"utilizes\", \"very\", ¬\n\"in the event\", \"in order to\", \"on the grounds that\", \"in case\", \"the public\", ¬\n\"come to the conclusion\"}\n--\ntell application \"Microsoft Word\"\n-- Cycle through the markWords and Bold\/Underline the words\nrepeat with theWord in markWords\nset findRange to find object of text object of active document\ntell findRange\nset match whole word to true\nset content of replacement of findRange to \"{\" & theWord & \"}\"\nset bold of font object of replacement of findRange to true\nset color index of font object of replacement of findRange to red\nset underline of font object of replacement of findRange to underline thick\nexecute find find text theWord replace replace all\nend tell\nend repeat\n--\n-- Calculate stats\nset statWordCount to compute statistics active document statistic statistic words\nset statFKGradeLevel to get readability value of readability statistic 10 of text object of active document\nset statParagraphs to get readability value of readability statistic 3 of text object of active document\nset statSentences to get readability value of readability statistic 4 of text object of active document\nset statSentPerParagraph to get readability value of readability statistic 5 of text object of active document\nset statWordsPerSent to get readability value of readability statistic 6 of text object of active document\nset statPassiveSents to get readability value of readability statistic 8 of text object of active document\n\n-- Move to end of document\nset currentDoc to text object of active document\ninsert break at currentDoc break type section break next page\n\n-- Create a report on the document, after a page break\nset currentDoc to collapse range currentDoc direction collapse end\ninsert paragraph at end of currentDoc\ntype text selection text \"Report on Text\"\ntype paragraph selection\ntype text selection text \"Grade Level: \" & statFKGradeLevel\ntype paragraph selection\ntype text selection text \"Number of Paragraphs: \" & statParagraphs & ¬\n\"; Sentences per Paragraph: \" & statSentPerParagraph\ntype paragraph selection\ntype text selection text \"Number of Sentences: \" & statSentences & ¬\n\"; Words per Sentences: \" & statWordsPerSent\ntype paragraph selection\ntype text selection text \"Passive Sentences: \" & statPassiveSents\ntype paragraph selection\ntype text selection text \"Number of Words: \" & statWordCount\n\nend tell\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most writers develop patterns in their prose. Experts can use these patterns to calculate the likelihood that a given text was written by a particular…<\/p>\n