Computer processes and interfaces for analyzing and suggesting improvements for text readability
AssigneeWordRake Holdings, LLC
InventorGary W. Kinder
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Computer-based processes are disclosed for analyzing and improving document readability. Document readability is improved by using rules and associated logic to automatically detect various types of writing problems and to make and/or suggest edits for eliminating such problems. Many of the rules seek to generate more concise formulations of the analyzed sentences, such as by eliminating unnecessary words, rearranging words and phrases, and making various other types of edits. Proposed edits can be conveyed, e.g., through a word processing platform, by changing the visual appearance of text to indicate how the text would appear with (or with and without) the edit.
Claims40
Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable code that instructs a computer system to perform a method of analysis and interaction with a user to improve clarity and brevity of text, the method comprising:
- accepting and storing input text;
- providing a user interface configured to display the stored input text and accept user input to accept or reject proposed edits generated by the method, thereby causing the computer system to retain or remove the proposed edits within the user interface;
- accessing a rules database of rules and other information used by the method during analysis, the database including rules for application to portions of text that include the word “in”;
- analyzing portions of the input text and addressing possible writing problems relating to the word “in”;
- providing for a user control in association with proposed edits in the user interface for accepting or rejecting each proposed edit;
- and
- through the user interface, conveying to a user the proposed edits and accepting user input to accept or reject each proposed edit, thereby causing the computer system to retain or remove the proposed edits within the user interface.
A method for compacting text in an electronic document stored on a computer system, the method comprising:
- accessing a database that stores a plurality of rules, each rule comprising at least one character string associated with the presence or absence of a non-compact writing issue, the database configured to include rules with a shared character string;
- detecting a shared character string in a text portion of the document, the shared character string comprising “of”;
- in connection with the detected shared character string, applying a rule that determines whether a non-compact writing issue that includes the shared character string is present in the text portion;
- at least partially in response to determining that the writing issue is present in the text portion, generating a proposed modification that reduces the length of the text portion based on at least the second rule;
- generating, for display to a user, a user interface that provisionally displays the proposed modification on a user interface of the computer system such that both the proposed modification and the initial contents of the text portion are visible to a user;
- providing a control configured to allow a user to accept or reject the proposed modification and responding to use of this control by immediately changing the user interface to incorporate the proposed modification if it is accepted and to remove the proposed modification if it is rejected;
- and
- in further response to the detection of the shared character string, applying one or more additional rules that determine whether one or more additional non-compact writing issues are present in the text portion.
Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable code that instructs a computer system to perform a method of analysis and interaction with a user to improve clarity and brevity of text, the method comprising:
- accepting and storing input text;
- providing a user interface configured to display the stored input text and accept user input to accept or reject proposed edits generated by the method, thereby causing the computer to retain or remove the proposed edits within the user interface;
- accessing a rules database of rules and other information used by the method during analysis, the database including rules for application to portions of text that include the word “as”;
- analyzing portions of the input text and addressing possible writing problems relating to the word “as”;
- providing for a user control in association with proposed edits in the user interface for accepting or rejecting each proposed edit;
- and
- through the user interface, conveying to a user the proposed edits and accepting user input to accept or reject each proposed edit, thereby causing the computer to retain or remove the proposed edits within the user interface.
A method for compacting text in an electronic document stored on a computer system, the method comprising:
- accessing a database that stores a plurality of rules, each rule comprising at least one shared sign associated with the presence or absence of a non-compact writing issue;
- detecting the shared sign in a text portion of the document, the shared sign comprising the character string “there”;
- at least partially in response to detecting the shared sign, applying a first rule that determines whether a false positive associated with the shared sign is present in the text portion;
- at least partially in response to detecting the shared sign, applying a second rule that determines whether a non-compact writing issue associated with the shared sign is present in the text portion;
- at least partially in response to determining that the writing issue is present in the text portion and the false positive is not present in the text portion, generating a proposed modification that reduces the length of the text portion based on at least the second rule;
- provisionally displaying the proposed modification on a user interface of the computer system such that both the proposed modification and the initial contents of the text portion are visible to a user;
- and
- providing a binary control configured to allow a user to accept or reject the proposed modification and responding to use of this binary control by immediately changing the user interface to incorporate the proposed modification if it is accepted and to remove the proposed modification if it is rejected.
Non-transitory computer storage which stores executable code capable of causing a computing system to perform a process that comprises:
- scanning a sentence for at least one sign of a possible writing problem relating to the word “there”;
- at least partially in response to detecting said sign, determining whether the “there” is followed by a “to be” verb;
- and if it is
- at least partly in response to determining that the sign is not part of a word or word group that is present in the database of false positives, executing correction logic with a resulting edit, the edit comprising at least removing the “there,” the “to be” verb.
Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable code that instructs a computer system to perform a method of analysis and interaction with a user to improve clarity and brevity of text, the method comprising:
- accepting and storing input text;
- providing a user interface configured to display the stored input text and accept user input to accept or reject proposed edits generated by the method, thereby causing the computer to retain or remove the proposed edits within the user interface;
- accessing a rules database of rules and other information used by the method during analysis, the database including rules for application to portions of text that include the word “or”;
- analyzing portions of the input text and addressing possible writing problems relating to the word “or”;
- providing for a user control in association with proposed edits in the user interface for accepting or rejecting each proposed edit;
- and
- through the user interface, conveying to a user the proposed edits and accepting user input to accept or reject each proposed edit, thereby causing the computer to retain or remove the proposed edits within the user interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.