Making Revision a Habit

A Review of WordRake Software

Most of us understand that great writing happens through revision. We realize that revision is important, but we’re in a hurry.

As long as we think of revision as an ‘extra’ process outside of writing, we’re tempted to skip it.

So we send out our work with imperfections, excess words, remnants of messy thought processes-small glitches that add to the reader’s cognitive load.

Even if your writing doesn’t have glaring errors, why pass up an opportunity to present your ideas with crystal clarity?

Why not embed careful revision into your writing process for everything?

Technology has moved us in this direction by integrating spelling and grammar checking into our writing environments. But those features can’t help with subtler but critical writing issues: excess wordiness or terminology that might confuse the reader. For that, we need a nuanced editorial eye.

While nothing beats a human editor, no one wants to hire an editor for every email and memo. The right software, however, can take you far.

There are many software options on the market. I have become enamored of WordRake. It’s perfect for a someone like myself, who works in Microsoft Word and who values clarity and brevity.