Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Printable Summary is Here
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
title validation - how not to write a title
[loud clapping]
What does this mean?
In the past, anyone could submit a paper with a terrible title -- too short, too long, not properly capitalized, etc. And yet there would be no word of advice from us. Today, all this has changed, so beware if you plan on submitting papers with shoddy titles. We've got our eye on you!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Automated Grading has Arrived
Automated grading of papers has been one of the most requested features and certainly the one that has had our engineers working the most hours. Consider the difficulty in attempting to grade a paper when...
1) You do not know the assignment topic
2) You do not know the recommended length
3) You are a computer with limited knowledge of the meaning of words
Nevertheless, we've found the Auto Grader to be nearly as accurate as human graders for most papers. We do note that this grade should be considered a partial grade as it incorporates grammar, spelling, word choice, and style, but not the author's arguments, logic, organization, and ideas. The latter will still need to be examined by a human.
We do hope some day to provide information into the technical side of this service. However, for now we are busy adding more features that we hope you will love. If you would like to suggest a feature, please click here.
1) You do not know the assignment topic2) You do not know the recommended length
3) You are a computer with limited knowledge of the meaning of words
Nevertheless, we've found the Auto Grader to be nearly as accurate as human graders for most papers. We do note that this grade should be considered a partial grade as it incorporates grammar, spelling, word choice, and style, but not the author's arguments, logic, organization, and ideas. The latter will still need to be examined by a human.
We do hope some day to provide information into the technical side of this service. However, for now we are busy adding more features that we hope you will love. If you would like to suggest a feature, please click here.
Friday, October 22, 2010
New: Speedy Plagiarism Checker
Why would someone want ONLY plagiarism detection?
Most students prefer to run a complete check of their papers including plagiarism, grammar, spelling, word choice, and style. However, teachers are often interested in checking only the originality of the document. The snappy response offered by the Plagiarism Checker gives them exactly what they need.
Comments are welcome...
Friday, August 27, 2010
Improved Plagiarism Detection
How Does Your Plagiarism Detection Work?
We get this question a lot. First, let me say that papers submitted to our service are NOT used as part of future originality checks. Sites like TurnItIn collect and store documents as part of their plagiarism detection service. Instead, Paper Rater searches the Internet to find documents that match the paper that you submitted to us for review. If the paper that you submit already exists publicly on the Internet, then the Paper Rater plagiarism detection will most likely find it. And, due to our recent update, any matches will be accompanied by links to the sources, so that you can see for yourself the page(s) that triggered the low originality score.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Shorter Text Submissions
Nevertheless, our users told us (more than once) that we should be allowing shorter pieces of text to be submitted. We are listening. As of this writing PaperRater.com will process pieces of text under 500 characters similarly to larger text with the following caveats:
- Originality detection will be disabled
- Vocabulary analysis will be disabled
- Transitional phrases will not be analyzed
- Raw statistics will not be displayed
Thanks for the valuable feedback!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Clichés
As stated in the General Grammar Tips blog, you should avoid slang terminology in your writing. By this, I mean avoid clichés and any sayings that can have more than one meaning.
It can be difficult to locate sayings in your own paper, which is why it is important to have someone else proofread your paper before you turn it in. A fresh look at the paper will be helpful in catching common mistakes and the use of clichés.
A cliché is defined as a trite or obvious remark. This definition can be misleading because the remarks are not always obvious. Sometimes there are sayings that we say to our friends and families so often that they seem like common sense. However, if you were to say it to a stranger or someone from a different country, it may not make complete sense.
Avoid slang terminology. Imagine writing a paper for someone from a different country. That person may not be familiar with slang terms that are used in conversational language.
Example 1: Mark knew how hard it was to get clean after being addicted to drugs for 5 years.
Example 2: Julie was a typical girl next door, and everyone loved being around her.
Example 3: My grandfather was out there, so we didn’t stay very long, in case he was going to do something crazy.
Get clean should have been exchanged with become sober so that it was clear for the reader.
Instead of using girl next door to describe Julie, her personality traits should have been listed or defined. Not everyone understands what this slang term means, and people could have different definitions for it. Also, using the phrase out there to describe someone that is mentally unstable would be confusing for a reader that was unfamiliar with this terminology. Be sure to make your writing more formal to the point that it could be translated into another language and still be understood.
Take into consideration that clichés are commonly used because they are so well at describing situations. It can be difficult to come up with a different word or phrase to get your description across because you're so used to using the clichés. That's why it is important to be very close to your thesaurus and have it handy when you're going over your first draft to eliminate the clichés.
Example 1: When it rains, it pours, which is why you have to be prepared for difficult times in life.
Example 2: It's not rocket science to figure out that our country's leaders are struggling to manage the economy.
Example 3: Since our camera broke, the bottom line is this: We need to hire a professional photographer because when life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonade.
These examples make it clear that overusing clichés in writing can be tiresome for the reader, and they won't make your essay stand out from the rest. Professors will be impressed when they read a paper that doesn't use clichés, especially when the authors goes the extra mile to think outside the box and come up with new descriptions as alternatives to these obvious remarks.
Visit the following websites for more help on this topic:
It can be difficult to locate sayings in your own paper, which is why it is important to have someone else proofread your paper before you turn it in. A fresh look at the paper will be helpful in catching common mistakes and the use of clichés.
A cliché is defined as a trite or obvious remark. This definition can be misleading because the remarks are not always obvious. Sometimes there are sayings that we say to our friends and families so often that they seem like common sense. However, if you were to say it to a stranger or someone from a different country, it may not make complete sense.
Avoid slang terminology. Imagine writing a paper for someone from a different country. That person may not be familiar with slang terms that are used in conversational language.
Example 1: Mark knew how hard it was to get clean after being addicted to drugs for 5 years.
Example 2: Julie was a typical girl next door, and everyone loved being around her.
Example 3: My grandfather was out there, so we didn’t stay very long, in case he was going to do something crazy.
Get clean should have been exchanged with become sober so that it was clear for the reader.
Instead of using girl next door to describe Julie, her personality traits should have been listed or defined. Not everyone understands what this slang term means, and people could have different definitions for it. Also, using the phrase out there to describe someone that is mentally unstable would be confusing for a reader that was unfamiliar with this terminology. Be sure to make your writing more formal to the point that it could be translated into another language and still be understood.
Take into consideration that clichés are commonly used because they are so well at describing situations. It can be difficult to come up with a different word or phrase to get your description across because you're so used to using the clichés. That's why it is important to be very close to your thesaurus and have it handy when you're going over your first draft to eliminate the clichés.
Example 1: When it rains, it pours, which is why you have to be prepared for difficult times in life.Example 2: It's not rocket science to figure out that our country's leaders are struggling to manage the economy.
Example 3: Since our camera broke, the bottom line is this: We need to hire a professional photographer because when life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonade.
These examples make it clear that overusing clichés in writing can be tiresome for the reader, and they won't make your essay stand out from the rest. Professors will be impressed when they read a paper that doesn't use clichés, especially when the authors goes the extra mile to think outside the box and come up with new descriptions as alternatives to these obvious remarks.
Visit the following websites for more help on this topic:
- University of Richmond Writing Center gives an excellent example and helpful tips on how to avoid clichés in writing.
- About.com gives an extensive list of common clichés to help you pick them out in your writing.
- Ezine Articles tackles clichés in creative writing. They mention how to use clichés in dialogue and how to write your first draft of a creative piece.
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