Twilocity
I submitted a couple of pieces of writing to Twilocity, a site that reviews and checks MS Word documents by running the writing through some macros. They were returned in a short time and the results were good. The blurb on the site says that their review should take you up to the next grade level and is aimed at American college students, but there's a lot in the report that comes back that could benefit ESL learners.
The writing came back with dozens of comments and suggestions, using APA style and The Gregg Reference Manual, which might be a little too prescriptive for some tastes, but many of the suggestions were good. It also produces a personalised list of points at the end of the paper suggesting areas for further study based on the number of times an error or weakness had occurred in the writing.
Older versions of Word struggle a bit with the display of the different editors. It worked well enough in OpenOffice but Google Docs was not able to display things very well.
It would be nice if different style guides could be chosen, but as a quick and cheap way of getting some useful comments made on writing, it is a service I would welcome if I were an ESL learner submitting an essay.
A typical page in OpenOffice with the colour coded comments (blurred)
Categories: General
I am smitten by the length and depth of the language issues that you take. I am also a firm believer in exposing the myriad intricacies of languages to the common student.
I am the founder of a Visual Vocabulary site http://www.weboword.com/ where we use cartoon images to explain tough words.
The words are explained in a conversational format,making the usage clear. We also have crossword based exercises to further enhance the retention.
I would be really grateful if you could take some time out and review the service.
Regards
Aakanksha Gaur
glad it worked well in openoffice, very useful for the small business
Hi
You have discovered and suggested a wonderful site. Its most certainly handy especially if you need some quick help.
Regards
Gurulancers
Thank you. The site is really interesting. Self improving is never too much :)
like to read more.
Great find here!
I have used this service before and go recommended it. However as you have pointed out, it would be good if there was a few more options available.
Very interesting about Twilocity, especially since writing is the last skill to develop for native speakers of English as well as English Language Learners.
It is a very good website and tool, we at St George International recommend it. http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/
Hi teacher Tdol,
If I'm practising GRE(Graduate Record Examinations) analytical writing, do you think Twilocity suit this purpose because they use APA style and The Gregg Reference Manual for checking?
I would suggest giving it a try- they give you a full breakdown of a paper for free, so try them out. I used some writing from students and liked what I saw.