After loading and scanning your document against the active parameters, three grades are shown ranging from "horrid" to "excellent."
That's when the fun starts.
StyleWriter works like an inline spell checker in that it identifies and highlights each of the offending items that contributed to the high score, then offers advice on fixing each problem. The word or phrase that was identified as violating the rule and the suggestions for repairing the problem are displayed in the Advice window. Many changes can be applied by simply clicking the suggested fix. For example, StyleWriter identified the word "authorized" as a Complex Word, and suggested using "let, allowed, approved, or sanctioned" instead. Simply clicking "allowed" replaced the word in the main document and moved to the next offender.
Some changes require editing the document directly, wherein StyleWriter automatically minimizes after clicking the Edit button so you can make your changes manually.
In addition to making your documents easier to read using its built-in rules, you can also create your own set of House Rules checked by StyleWriter to ensure that documents adhere to them. For example, if your company has standardized on the spelling "e-mail," StyleWriter can check for offending spellings like email, eMail, or Email, and suggest they be changed. The other parameters that control sentence length and passive verbs can also be modified to suit the company's preferences.
A Complete Package
Overall, StyleWriter is a valuable tool for organizations that need to produce high-quality documents and that don't have a full-time editing staff. Even with a documentation or public relations department, StyleWriter can help by ensuring a consistent set of standards and by easing the burden of training staff on the company's preferred editorial guidelines.
The StyleWriter program comes with a demo and tutorial as well as a dictionary-thesaurus, a writer's outliner program, a typing tutor, and a writer's calculator. Guides for writing technical documents, business plans, resumés, cover letters, essays, and letter writing are also included as bonuses.
Pros: Valuable collection of tools for improving your writing and ensuring your company's documents follow a set style, solid integration with Microsoft Word
Cons: Aging interface, quite expensive at $160, doesn't integrate as well with other word processors (especiallys non-DDE-compliant processors), somewhat buggy
