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Bash scripts that highlight potential weaknesses in your scientific writing.

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Writing scripts

A collection of scripts (simple programs you run from a command prompt) that will help you find weak spots in your scientific writing.

Other (better) scripts

Individual usage

If the script (.sh extension) is in the same folder as your text file run:

./weaselwords.sh  yourpaper.txt

You may have to type in chmod +x weaselwords.sh in order to make the scripts executable.

Language test

The script language_test.sh will run all the other tests in sequence. For example, to check all of Chapter 3 (split into several .tex files) of my thesis I run:

$ ./language_test.sh ../03.*

Starting language self test 
=======================================================v0.1==
Checking for use of passive voice in ../03.Channel-coding-Thm.tex ../03.Example.tex ../03.HSW-Thm-proof.tex ../03.HSW-Thm.tex ../03.Point-to-point-channels.tex
../03.Channel-coding-Thm.tex:15:        Each use of the channel is assumed to be independent,
../03.Channel-coding-Thm.tex:19:        This is called the discrete memoryless setting.
../03.Channel-coding-Thm.tex:25:        \emph{rate} $R$ at which the channel $\mcal{N}$ can be converted
 
 Checking for usage of weasel words in ../03.Channel-coding-Thm.tex ../03.Example.tex ../03.HSW-Thm-proof.tex ../03.HSW-Thm.tex ../03.Point-to-point-channels.tex
 ../03.Channel-coding-Thm.tex:223:       %        and techniques many of  
 ../03.Example.tex:244:  and see various coding strategies, measurement constructions and
  
 Checking for duplicate words in ../03.Channel-coding-Thm.tex ../03.Example.tex ../03.HSW-Thm-proof.tex ../03.HSW-Thm.tex ../03.Point-to-point-channels.tex
   
 =============================================================

Credit

Original author: Matt Might http://matt.might.net/ http://matt.might.net/articles/shell-scripts-for-passive-voice-weasel-words-duplicates/

New ideas from: Kristin Sainani via the "Writing in the Sciences" course https://class.coursera.org/sciwrite-2012-001/

I plan to make more scripts as the class progresses. Contributions are welcome.

Todo

Find a way to make scripts usable to win32 people. They are people too ;)

Links

A language script by Baron Schwartz https://gist.github.com/xaprb/8492226

http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7223969

https://www.languagetool.org/ https://github.com/languagetool-org/languagetool/tree/master/languagetool-core/src/main/java/org/languagetool/rules

See also links in Links folder.

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