Non-AI thesis proofreader

Notes

Who is this for?

• Anyone writing a long document, and going somewhat numb to the words!
• In particular, it may be useful to Ph.D. candidates, who have English as a second language

Why would I use this?

• It's free and provided with no adverts
• Your text stays on your computer - see the "Security" tab for more information.
• If you are writing in a text editor like Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, or Scrivener, it can be helpful to review in a different program. You may wish to split your screen, or put this tab on a second screen.
• The Word Count performs a simple word count. In Microsoft Word, if you have track changes enabled, your count may include words which are already struck through.
• It highlights all the places you have used a particular word.
• Tip: in Microsoft Word, from "Find in Document", then choose the ellipsis and "List Matches in Sidebar"
• It uses some pattern matching to find particular words, the passive voice, and double or excessive spacing.

How do I use it?

• Set the website theme to Dark or Light to match the time of day and your level of eye strain
• In Microsoft Word: Select All text (with Ctrl+A)
• Copy the text to your clipboard (with Ctrl+C)
• Come back to this browser tab
• Put your cursor into the "Paste or type your thesis text here..." box below
• Paste everything from your clipboard (with Ctrl+V)

Run the following checks

Once you have pasted text:

• The texts is checked, and a count of the issues is displayed on the buttons
• "Weasel 8" (as in the Example text) shows that 8 "Weasel Words" are present
• click any of the "Weasel, Passives, Duplicates, Lists, Syntax, American, Exact" buttons - selecting one de-selects the others
• Click the "Checks" button to see what each check does.
• If issues are found, the browser shows the issue in context of around 30 words.
• The browser focus moves to the first result - use the Tab key to navigate one by one
• If you are using keyboard navigation, press the Space bar to copy the text.
• If you are using a mouse, click anywhere in the result text to copy the text.
• Go back to Microsoft Word. Use Ctrl+F to open "Find in Document".
• In the "Search" use Ctrl+V to paste the fragment which is on your clipboard.

Who wrote this?

Adapted from Simon Willison's adaptation of these shell scripts published by Matt Might.

Nick Romney then developed the idea, using some assistance from Claude.ai to write further JavaScript code to identify issues, after reading a few chapters of a friend's PhD thesis.

How can I improve my academic writing?

The University of Manchester offers the Academic Phrasebank - the 9-page sample PDF is free, but genuinely useful and the 158-page PDF is available for £5.00

Check definitions

Weasel Words

Weasel words are vague qualifiers that make statements less precise and can weaken your writing. They often introduce ambiguity and may indicate a lack of clear evidence or reasoning.

Words checked: many, various, very, fairly, several, extremely, exceedingly, quite, remarkably, few, surprisingly, mostly, largely, huge, tiny, excellent, interestingly, significantly, substantially, clearly, vast, relatively, completely

Passive Voice

Passive voice constructions use a form of 'to be' followed by a past participle. While not grammatically incorrect, excessive use of passive voice can make writing less direct and engaging.

Patterns checked: be verb + past participle (regular -ed or irregular verbs)

Duplicate Words

Duplicate words are consecutive repetitions of the same word, like "the the"

Nearby text is also checked, to highlight duplicates across sentence or clause boundaries, where you may wish to use a synonym.

Example of the word "should"

First we should check lists for ordinals, then secondly we should check

Inconsistent List Markers

Inconsistent list markers mix ordinal forms (first, second, third) with adverbial forms (firstly, secondly, thirdly). For clarity and consistency, stick with one style throughout your document.

Ordinal markers: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth

Adverbial markers: firstly, secondly, thirdly, fourthly, fifthly, sixthly, seventhly, eighthly, ninthly, tenthly

Syntax & Formatting Issues

This check highlights formatting issues in academic writing, including spacing problems, potential footnote numbers, unmatched punctuation, and typography errors.

• Excessive spacing
• Footnote numbers left in text
• Unmatched punctuation: quotes, brackets, etc.
• Mixed list styles (numeric, alphabetic, Roman numerals)
• Wrong apostrophe characters: detects when right single quotes (') or left single quotes (') are used instead of proper apostrophes (') before possessive -s

American spellings

This check highlights American spellings, e.g. the use of `-ize` rather than `-ise`, and offers its British equivalent

Punctuation Analysis

This check analyses punctuation usage patterns in your text and identifies potential mismatches or imbalances. It provides a frequency table of all punctuation characters and highlights potential issues.

• Punctuation frequency analysis: counts of periods, commas, semicolons, etc.
• Mismatch detection: unbalanced quotes, brackets, or parentheses
• Pattern recognition: helps identify overuse or underuse of specific punctuation

Long Sentences

This check identifies sentences that may be too long and potentially difficult to read. Medium: 20-29 words, Long: 30-39 words, Extra-long: 40+ words. Academic writing benefits from sentence variety.

Vocabulary Analysis

This check analyses your vocabulary usage patterns and helps identify words that might be overused or underused. It's particularly useful for ensuring vocabulary diversity in academic writing.

• Word frequency analysis: identifies commonly used words
• Vocabulary diversity: helps spot repetitive language patterns
• Usage categories: infrequent, frequent, and common word usage

Plurals

This check identifies different types of plural forms and possessive constructions in your text. It's designed as a pattern discovery tool to help you review plural usage systematically, particularly useful for non-native English speakers.

• Simple plurals: regular -s, -es, and -ies endings (students, boxes, universities)
• Strong/irregular plurals: Old English forms (men, women, children, oxen)
• Latin/Greek plurals: academic terms (criteria, phenomena, alumni)
• Invariant nouns: same singular and plural form (sheep, deer, series)
• Possessives: singular (student's) and plural (students') possessive forms
• Grocer's apostrophe: incorrect apostrophe usage (apple's for sale)

Exact String

This feature finds all occurrences of an exact string in your text, regardless of context. It's useful for ensuring consistent terminology or identifying overused phrases.

It might be particularly useful if you are contrasting two similar terms, to ensure that you have used them correctly.

Security / non-AI

All the code runs in the browser on your local computer

This page is delivered over the internet to your browser, and then everything runs locally.

All the text stays on your computer and nothing is sent to any remote server.

Offline / airplane mode

If you are really nervous about running this (and why wouldn't you be, with an important thesis)

• Open a private tab in your browser
• Load this page
• Disconnect your network cable or wireless connection
• Use this page
• When finished, close the private browser tab before you reconnect your network

This means that it would also work in settings with poor internet speeds (e.g. WiFi on a train)

No changes are made to your text

This site will not change your text - it highlights text to reconsider.

In a world filled with AI, it is still important to know that you have written all the text yourself.

FAQ - Philosophy and Purpose

Why does this tool exist?

This is an opinionated checker - it looks for the things I would look for when reviewing academic writing. It reflects my personal preferences and experience in identifying common issues in long documents.

Why doesn't it auto-correct my text?

This tool purposely does not auto-correct your text, because it is your text, and I want you to be confident in what you are expressing. Every correction should be a conscious choice that you make.

Couldn't I just use "Ctrl + F" in Microsoft Word?

Yes! All the checks could be done (slowly) with "Ctrl + F" in Microsoft Word - they are looking for patterns and particular words. But this tool automates that process and presents the results systematically.

What's the core problem this solves?

My belief is that authors of long documents go numb to their words, and cannot see the wood for the trees. After months or years working on a thesis, you lose the ability to spot patterns and repetitions that would be obvious to a fresh reader.

How should I use this tool effectively?

My suggestion for how you use it:

1. Run your text through the checker
2. Process each type of error systematically
3. Do not try to fix all the errors in one editing session
4. Focus on one category at a time (e.g., all weasel words first, then all passive voice, etc.)
5. Take breaks between different types of edits

Who is this really for?

This tool is designed for:

• PhD candidates and academic writers working on long documents
• Anyone who has been working on the same text for so long that they've "gone numb" to it
• Writers who want to maintain full control over their text while getting systematic feedback
• People who prefer to understand and consciously address each issue rather than accepting automatic corrections

Writing Tips and Resources

Recommended Writing Resources

Here are some excellent resources for improving academic writing:

Style and Grammar Guides

• Plain English Campaign - Clear writing principles
• GOV.UK Style Guide - Excellent guidance on clear communication
• Google Developer Documentation Style Guide - Modern writing standards

Academic Writing

• Academic Phrasebank (University of Manchester) - Essential phrases for academic writing
• WriteWords - Writing community and resources
• UNC Writing Center - Comprehensive writing guides

Grammar and Usage

• The Blue Book of Grammar - Comprehensive grammar reference
• Grammar Girl - Practical grammar tips
• APA Style Blog - Academic writing style guidance

Tools and Software

• Hemingway Editor - Readability and clarity checker
• Scrivener - Writing software for long documents
• Zotero - Reference management

Writing Philosophy

Remember: Good writing is rewriting. The first draft is just getting your ideas down. The real work happens in revision, where you clarify, tighten, and polish your arguments.

Focus on one thing at a time: Don't try to fix content, structure, style, and grammar all at once. Work systematically through different types of improvements.