English Grammar and Spelling Tips for Writers
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Dr. Simeon Hein







 
  • 5 Fun and Free Online Grammar Games

    This guest post by Maria Rainier.

    Whether you’re a grammar nerd or learning English as a new language, we all know that practice makes perfect. Not all of us have the time to practice grammar ins and outs, because our schedules keep us constantly on the go. But what better way to get in some English grammar practice once in a while than with an addictive, and portable, online game? Next time you have a few minutes to spare or become bored with you latest attempt to conquer Words with Friends, try out one of these simple and addictive grammar games available online.

    1. Word Challenge
    This is a cool one. It’s addictive because it’s timed. Questions mainly cover vocabulary and word usage. Get the app here.

    2. Grammar Up
    This was designed based on common areas covered by the TOEIC English proficiency test and is geared toward business usage and vocabulary. There are ten different grammar categories, and students can choose games based on those categories. It’s a fun way to pass the time, great for ESL students, and a good refresher for native English speakers. Check it out here.

    3. The Grammar Gorillas
    This is a cute game where players identify parts of speech in order to get bananas for gorilla friends. There are beginner and advanced settings. Try it free here.

    4. Sink or Swim
    The object of the game is to stay above water. If you make a mistake, you will sink further below the surface; correct answers keep you afloat. Try it here.

    5. The Prefixes Game
    Players fit block together to build a tower and have to select pieces with the right shape and prefix in order to build the tower higher. Try it here.

    Author Bio:
    Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

  • WhiteSmoke 2010+ T-Gen Review

    I just started using WhiteSmoke T-Gen, also known as WhiteSmoke 2010+ “Text Genome,” the latest version of this flagship English grammar, spelling, and style checker, and here are my first impressions. I was skeptical at first because I’ve had some problems with the software in the past, but the program now seems much smoother and more stable than previous versions.  While using the automatic correction feature in Word Press used to cause it to crash, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it now seems to work fine.

    T-Gen also gives you some interesting statistics about your writing on the right-hand side of the work area. You can “mouse over” these stats to get more information about what they mean. Learn more about WhiteSmoke T-Gen. Go here for a full review and videos about the WhiteSmoke grammar checker or click here for a short WhiteSmoke review. Overall, the grammar and spelling checker is better than ever and crashes or interferes with other programs and software much less often. Speed is also improved. If you want to try it before you buy, click here for a Free 3-Day Trial.

  • WhiteSmoke Review–“Very Good English Grammar Checker, But Not Perfect “

    A lot has been written about the WhiteSmoke writing software product which is featured here on this blog.  The software checks grammar, spelling, style and offers corrections and suggestions. Overall, I feel that WhiteSmoke offers some good value and I use it often. It is especially helpful for spotting missing and duplicate words, and basic grammar and spelling mistakes. It’s like having a personal proofreader, with an English degree, checking my writing. The software is quite sophisticated as it associated with a computer network that “reads” newspapers and other material, daily, to stay up to date with the rules and practical uses of written English.

    Now even though it’s basically a good product, it is not without flaws. First, it can cause other text editing programs to crash if they are both open at the same time and you use WhiteSmoke to automatically correct your writing rather than just flagging it for errors. For example, you can activate WhiteSmoke by pushing the “F2” key on your keyboard and the software will go ahead and check your text for errors (internet connection require). Sometimes, if you ask WhiteSmoke to not only check your writing, but fix it also, it causes other programs, like WordPress, on which this blog is written by the way, to inexplicably crash. This isn’t really a big deal as you can reopen the crashed program again (save your work before opening WhiteSmoke). But it can be a minor annoyance. I sometimes deal with this issue by making the corrections myself rather than letting WhiteSmoke do it automatically, which is when most of the crashes happen. So I just use WhiteSmoke to survey my text for corrections, but I work on these myself.

    WhiteSmoke  2010 FREE 3-Day Trial

    Second, there is a lot of criticism that WhiteSmoke isn’t perfect, that it makes mistakes. Well, duh! It’s a computer program, not a person. Since when did computers ever interpret language perfectly? They may be good or better at playing chess than a human, but with language it’s a different story. Language contains so many idioms and context sensitive meanings, I doubt a machine will ever be perfect for grammar checking. (Spelling is a different story–that can be automated.) So my basic feeling is the program is good enough. I don’t expect perfection out of it and it’s useful enough to stay on my desktop. Newer versions of the program include WhiteSmoke 2010 and WhiteSmoke T-GEN, to be reviewed in future posts. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences with this product.

    If you want to learn more about WhiteSmoke, get a free 3-day trial, or watch some videos I made about it, you can check out this page:

    English-Writing-Tools.com

    Overall: WhiteSmoke is basically a good product with some minor flaws.  It helps me to feel more confident in my writing  and it’s a decent value for the money.

    (This post was checked by WhiteSmoke. And for disclosure purposes, the owner of this blog, Mount Baldy Press, Inc. has a commercial relationship with the company.)

  • Free WhiteSmoke Grammar Checker

    Did you know that WhiteSmoke offers a free 3-day trial of their grammar checking software? You can find it on this page: Free Grammar Checkers

  • WhiteSmoke English Software

    This software is what I use to check my written English grammar and spelling:

    Get WhiteSmoke Here

  • WhiteSmoke 2010 Released-New emphasis on English punctuation

    WhiteSmoke has released the new version 2010 of their well-known software product, which I have written about extensively in this blog. There appear to be updates to the graphical interface and how the software checks English punctuation among other improvements.  I highly suggest you check it out. Click Here for More WhiteSmoke Info

  • The True Story of How Dr. Hein Improved His English Writing

    Get More Information About English Grammar Software Including Free Instructional Videos, Report, and 15-minute Phone Technical Support and Consultation with Dr. Hein


    Learn More About Dr. Simeon Hein

    Visit the WhiteSmoke Homepage

  • Now Get My Free Report: “How to Get the Most Out of WhiteSmoke: Features and Tips for Best Use”

    tn_whitesmoke-cover_p01I am now offering a free 6-page report that covers tricks and tips for getting the most out of  WhiteSmoke software. I’ve noticed a couple of things that make using the software easier and you can get this report if you purchase your copy of the software through this link or from my English-Writing-Tools.com website. Just email me with your order information, including time and date, and I will email a PDF copy of the report.