Words Up: "Expresso" App Helps Edit Your Wrecks Of Text

Writing is one of those art forms that's particularly unpleasant when its bad.  And now, in the age of texting everything and bastardizing verbiage 2 d point tht it loox lik ths (sorry, we won't do that again), it's sometimes hard to remember how to construct a coherent communication without sounding idiotic OR overly loquacious.  Now, there's an app to adjust your adjectives...

Tied up with editing effectively?  This app can help.
(Image courtesy thepolyman.com.)

According to Mental Floss, the Expresso app identifies unnecessary elements of style in your compositions, and helps you trim the literary fat to make your writing sound stronger.  

There are the stylistic problems that even seasoned writers can fall into - double negatives ("I didn't think he wouldn't read the article"), passive voice ("The article was read by the student"), and run-on sentences (self-explanatory, don't make us spend ten more paragraphs on a good example, because we will, and it'll be ridiculous.)  However, the app also searches for more common errors that casual writers might not even be aware they're committing.  Elements like weak verbs and filler words will also be called out for improvement.

Fuck your feelings.  State your point.
Murder weak words with impunity.
(Image courtesy twitter.com.)

While the Expresso is no substitute for practice, perseverance, and a good professional editor, it can definitely indicate where prospective authors need work.  Similarly, it can indicate what elements you like (but were unable to pinpoint) in the works of your favorite authors.  Simply copy and paste text, or write it directly into the app (which is free), and the prognosis is presented.  Users can even identify how many "rare" words they use, which synonyms they could substitute to spice things up, and what reading level the test is appraised at.

Synonyms can be critically effective when describing clusterfucks problematic scenarios.
(Image courtesy devix.tumblr.com.)

The Expresso website is quick to note that its teaching of technique is only a starting point, stating, “Writing metrics employed by Expresso can be powerful but they are not a 'magic bullet'...Good writing style remains an art, not a science.”

There's nothing wrong with using a little science to help it out, though.    

We meant the science involved in the app, Hemingway,
not the science of mixology!
But hey, whatever gets the right words down.
(Image courtesy dotandbo.com.)