# US 2019/0318001 A1 · Document preparation with argumentation support from a deep question answering system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0318001 A1 - Document ID: US20190318001A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/454,421 - Filed: 2019-06-27 - Published: 2019-10-17 - Earliest claimed: 2017-11-30 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: Charles E. Beller; William G. Dubyak; Palani Sakthi; Robert A. Sheets; Kristen M. Summers - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190318001A1 ## CPC - G06F 40/40: Processing or translation of natural language (natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30) - G06F 40/247: Thesauruses; Synonyms - G06F 40/268: Morphological analysis - G06F 40/284: Lexical analysis, e.g. tokenisation or collocates - G06F 40/289: Phrasal analysis, e.g. finite state techniques or chunking - G06F 40/30: Semantic analysis - G06F 40/51: Translation evaluation - G09B 5/02: with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip - G09B 7/02: of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student - G09B 19/00: Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass (teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26) - G06F 40/35: Discourse or dialogue representation - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G09B: EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS (devices for psychotechnics or for testing reaction times A61B5/16; games, sports, amusements A63; projectors, projector screens G03B) ## Abstract Dynamic semantic processing of text in a word processing application with engagement of question-answering system. A user provides a text stream to a computer system via an input source. The input text stream includes a first natural language statement. The system determines that the first natural language statement includes a fact-based component expressed in natural language form. The system identifies an initial span and an alternative span of the first natural language component, based on the determining. The system engages a question-answering (QA) system by providing the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component to the QA system, and by receiving, in response to the providing, a set of natural language results from the QA system. The system evaluates the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component based on the received natural language results. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: identifying an initial span and an alternative span of a first natural language component comprising a fact-based natural language statement; and receiving a set of natural language results from a question-answering (QA) system in response to providing the initial span and the alternative span to the QA system. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the natural language results comprise a passage, a keyword, or both. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein each of the passage, the keyword, or both, is associated with a score reflecting how well the passage, the keyword, or both, supports an associated span of text, the associated span of text corresponding to the initial span or the alternative span of the first natural language component. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, further comprising engaging the QA system by providing the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component to the QA system, wherein receiving the set of natural language results is in response to the engaging. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: evaluating the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component based on the received natural language results; and identifying, based on the evaluating, a set of passages and keywords having associated scores corresponding to how well the set of passages and keywords support the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component, wherein the associated scores are within a specified range of scores for passages and keywords. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising: outputting, to a user, results of the evaluating via an input/output (I/O) device of a computing device. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein outputting results of the evaluating via an input/output (I/O) device of the computing device comprises: highlighting, on a display of the computing device, the initial span of the first natural language component; and indicating that at least one alternative text span of the first natural language component is associated with a set of passages, keywords, or both, having corresponding scores higher than scores for the initial span of the first natural language component. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an input text stream via-an input source, the receiving comprising: monitoring an input stream of the word processing program based on keyboard input from a user; and determining that the first natural language statement comprises a fact-based component by periodically engaging the QA system using, as input to the QA system, a portion of the input stream of the word processing program. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein evaluating the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component based on the received natural language results comprises: determining which of the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component has a higher associated score returned by the QA system. ### Claim 10 A computer program product for processing user input in a word processing program, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory tangible storage device having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by a processor of a computer to perform a method, the method comprising: identifying, by the processor, an initial span and an alternative span of a first natural language component comprising a fact-based natural language statement; and receiving, by the processor, a set of natural language results from a question-answering (QA) system in response to providing the initial span and the alternative span to the QA system. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the natural language results comprise a passage, a keyword, or both. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The computer program product of claim 11, wherein each of the passage, the keyword, or both, is associated with a score reflecting how well the passage, the keyword, or both, supports an associated span of text, the associated span of text corresponding to the initial span or the alternative span of the first natural language component. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising engaging the QA system by providing, by the processor, the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component to the QA system, wherein receiving the set of natural language results is in response to the engaging. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising: evaluating, by the processor, the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component based on the received natural language results; and identifying, by the processor, based on the evaluating, a set of passages and keywords having associated scores corresponding to how well the set of passages and keywords support the initial span and the alternative span of the first natural language component, wherein the associated scores are within a specified range of scores for passages and keywords. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising: outputting, by the processor, to a user, results of the evaluating via an input/output (I/O) device of a computing device. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The computer program product of claim 15, wherein outputting results of the evaluating via an input/output (I/O) device of the computing device comprises: highlighting, by the processor, on a display of the computing device, the initial span of the first natural language component; and indicating, by the processor, that at least one alternative text span of the first natural language component is associated with a set of passages, keywords, or both, having corresponding scores higher than scores for the initial span of the first natural language component. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising wherein receiving an input text stream via an input source, the receiving comprising: monitoring, by the processor, an input stream of the word processing program based on keyboard input from a user; and determining, by the processor, that the first natural language statement comprises a fact-based component by periodically engaging the QA system using, as input to the QA system, a portion of the input stream of the word processing program. ### Claim 18 A computer system for processing user input in a word processing program, comprising: one or more computer devices each having one or more processors and one or more tangible storage devices; and a program embodied on at least one of the one or more storage devices, the program having a plurality of program instructions for execution by the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising instructions for: identifying an initial span and an alternative span of a first natural language component comprising a fact-based natural language statement; and receiving a set of natural language results from a question-answering (QA) system in response to providing the initial span and the alternative span to the QA system. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein the natural language results comprise a passage, a keyword, or both. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The system of claim 19, wherein each of the passage, the keyword, or both, is associated with a score reflecting how well the passage, the keyword, or both, supports an associated span of text, the associated span of text corresponding to the initial span or the alternative span of the first natural language component.