I love to write. I do it all the time. My problem is that I write like I talk, which means that my writing is sometimes hard to understand. I’m not a sequential thinker and my ideas jump all over the place. This can make the things I write difficult to read. Since I view writing as a form of communication, what I write should be easy to understand. If it isn’t, then I’m not much of a communicator. What I need is an editor, someone who will check what I write for understanding. I don’t have an editor, but I do have Hemingway, the free online editor that helps me analyze my writing style.
Writing Style and the Reader
Hemingway is like a spellchecker for writing style. It helps make sure that your reader will focus on what you are saying, not how you are saying it., Hemingway creators Adam and Ben Long believe that in writing, less is more. So their software identifies where your writing is too dense to be easily understood. By removing extra words or splitting a long sentence into two you can make your writing more readable.
The Hemingway editor uses yellow and red highlighter colors to identify sentences that are hard or very hard to read. Phrases that have simpler alternatives are highlighted in pink. Adverbs are highlighted in blue, and uses of passive voice are highlighted in green. By paying attention to the highlighted text, you can remove extra words, find simpler alternatives, and get rid of passive voice that makes your writing heavier and less readable.
Readability
The main goal of the Hemingway editor is to make your writing more enjoyable for your reader, known as readability. Hemingway will evaluate your writing and assign it a grade level. Grade level doesn’t refer to who you are writing for. In this instance, it means the lowest year of education necessary to understand your writing. Having a high reading level isn’t always a good thing. You need a sixth grade education to be able to read an average newspaper. In fact, having a very high grade level is likely to mean that your writing is confusing and filled with terminology. This isn’t good writing, even for a textbook.
Hemingway is a great tool for doing a preliminary edit of your writing style. It won’t take the place of a good editor, and it can’t help you with the more robust work involved in writing a complex paper or narrative, but it’s a great place to start. It is easy to use, doesn’t require registration or an account, and it’s free (my favorite price). Hemingway is now my go-to site with my first drafts.