Fun_People Archive
7 Nov
Generating more reviews of review generators...

Date: Sun,  7 Nov 93 23:00:08 PST
To: Fun_People
Subject: Generating more reviews of review generators...

 From: vangogh.CS.Berkeley.EDU!bostic (Keith Bostic)

Found on the December 1993 Personal Computer World letters page:

Regarding the free disk supplied with your August issue, I enclose an
analysis by the program Prostyle of a file called Rubbish, which speaks for
itself.  Prostyle even has the nerve to ask people to send money!  Is this
a con or what?  I should also mention that if you analyse Prostyle's own
Help pages with the product, you will find that its own style of writing is
classified as only fair to average.

The file goes:

    Tne jpooyt gohj tooyuoririty whiu qworty direetyweop dirreectopn wehty
    qistyuiop weyt hifggbiuyt doop foopt aoup ertwoping wert.  Wourt we hgfu
    qudso scpvd oerty soiun qulopted hgoodroty sdwoed trip maltiggataie.
    Fimth oloxhart?  Habitiot ela callentnuero dhaeoonf y quirrecir quertset
    puoi artic.

The analyses are as follows:

QUICK COMMENT ON RUBBISH:  This writing is average.  The style fault
ratio is high enough to be noticeable without difficulty, but is
normal and perfectly acceptable.

COMMENTS ON THE OVERALL STYLE OF RUBBISH:  Your style is direct and
lively because you use verbs, which keep the reader clear at all times
about who is doing what.

COMMENTS ON THE CLARITY OF RUBBISH:  Your writing is hard to follow
because you use too many abstract terms -- perhaps you harbour a desire
to write classical novels...  Your sentences are generally too complex
because you have not found the right balance between natural pauses
and difficult words.

COMMENTS ON THE OVERALL IMPACT OF RUBBISH:  Your writing is punchy and
alive, because you keep all your verbs out in the open where they work
best.

COMMENTS ON THE STANDARD OF GRAMMAR USED IN RUBBISH:  Your standard of
grammar is excellent, and you have avoided some of the common pitfalls
that even some of the better writers can fall foul of.  Rubbish best
fits the category of Literary Novel.

Lawrence Simpson
Sliema, Malta

[I've always wondered how to keep my style direct and lively, and now I know:
use verbs!  (It's so easy once you know how.)  And while I'm at it I suppose
I'd better keep my verbs out in the open (where they work best).  -psl]

© 1993 Peter Langston