WordMAP-I – Spelling, Style, Grammar Checker

WordMAP-I – Product Description

General Description

The WordMAP-I Spelling-Sytle-Grammar Checker analyzes one text file in solo mode or up to two-hundred (200) files in batch mode. Flagged output files and/or printouts generated by the program highlight errors, probable errors, corrections to be made, and possible stylistic improvements. Writers use the flags inserted by WordMAP-I to correct or otherwise improve their writing.

Orientation

WordMAP-I is designed primarily for educational settings. It emphasizes thoroughness of checking rather than speed. It concentrates on the kinds of problems characteristic of much student writing, such as run-on sentences, comma splices, and sentence fragments. Its graphs and reports are designed to generate individual feedback as well as group feedback, not to mention data relating to comparative writing performance.

Efficiency

The WordMAP-I Grammar Check does not catch all errors, and in some cases may be mistaken in errors it flags. On the other hand, it is more reliable than human proof-readers in scanning for many problems, never suffers from English-paper fatigue, and doesn’t complain about working the night shift. In general, students who use WordMAP-I will produce cleaner text and learn more about spelling, grammar, and style than students who do not.

Inventory of Checks

The inventory of checks includes but is not limited to:

• General spelling
• Contractions
• Capitalization
• Verb agreement
• Possessive pronoun agreement
• Sentence fragments
• Run-on (fused) sentences
• Comma splices
• Chained sentences
• Extra long sentences
• Slang
• Trite expressions
• Colloquialisms
• Crude or profane language
• Sexually biased expressions
• 1st person references (ME)
• 2nd person references (YOU)
• Passive constructions
• BE verb forms
• Nominalizations
• Sentence initial AND
• Sequential IF clauses
• Sequential BECAUSE clauses
• Double comparisons
• Double negatives
• Dangling prepositions
• Split infinitives
• Homonym pairs
• Syntactic fluency
• Missing commas
• Missing question marks
• Misplaced quotes

Other flags, when activated, label sentences in terms of their starting structures and also as to whether they are simple, compound, or compound-complex.

Printouts

Grammar-Check printouts are listed as formatted pages with error flags and corrections inserted into the text.

WordMAP-I can be configured to use special fonts or print features to make the listings easier to use. For example, misspelled words can be made to appear in bold-faced caps, fuzzy words in compressed type, and so on.

Graphs

WordMAP-I generates optional Grammar Check Graphs which classify errors by type and frequency. Also available is a paragraph map which displays the number of paragraphs in the text analytzed, the number of words in each paragraph, and the average number of words per paragraph overall. Syntactic fluency data are generated upon request, as well as Flesch-Kincaid readability and grade-level figures, not to mention the Gunning Fog Index.

Check Selection

The overall inventory of checks, graphs, and reports is open for selection. Students or teachers may select all or any subset of the checks and options available. Groupings of checks may be saved by name and invoked when files are set up to run.

Operation

Students and teachers use the text-editing software they would normally use to create text files, saving one copy of files to be checked in ASCII format. The ASCII files are then transferred to a WordMAP-I unit for processing. Simple menus guide the user through the necessary check and graph selections with just a few keystrokes.

Hardware

One fast computer and printer can service several hundred students, provided that other units are available for text entry.

Flexibility

WordMAP-I is flexible. The Checker can be customized to satisfy the needs and tastes of specific educational institutions. Additional checks of comparable complexity can be added to its inventory upon request, or checks that it currently makes can be suppressed.

English Plus

The linguistic technology upon which WordMAP-I is based may be applied to any language. Linguistic Technologies will develop versions for languages other than English on a contractual basis.