Computer processes for analyzing and improving document readability by identifying passive voice

• US 8,014,996 B1
• Filed: 09/11/2007
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wordrake Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Wordrake Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Kinder, Gary W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smits; Talivaldis Ivars
• Assistant Examiner(s): PULLIAS, JESSE SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US11/853,561
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/237 Lexical tools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/253 Grammatical analysis; Style critique
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods for analyzing and improving document readability. For example, a computer-implementable method of improving authored text is disclosed that can identify passive voice text within authored text by performing the following steps: scanning for a “to be” verb in the text; identifying from the scan an occurrence of a “to be” verb; scanning for a past participle in the text; identifying from the scan an occurrence of a past participle in the text; and providing information to a user regarding a proposed edit to improve the text. Various other rules for improving text are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A system to improve authored text by mitigating problems related to passive voice, the system comprising:

a database of rules, comprising at least one rule having detection logic for detecting whether a particular writing problem exists in authored text, the detection logic comprising a sign that indicates the possible occurrence or absence of the writing problem relating to passive voice, and correction logic for correcting the problem, the correction logic capable of identifying a proposed edit;

a computer processor configured to apply the rules to the authored text; and

a user interface configured to suggest the proposed edit to the user, according to the rules;

wherein the sign comprises a past participle followed by the word “

by” and

one or more of the following;

a time noun, and a transport noun, said sign not being a predetermined phrase.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the edit comprises at least one of:

specifying a particular deletion, specifying a particular addition, and specifying a particular reordering.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the rule identifies words that are extraneous and can be removed.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the sign also includes a “

to be”

verb, and the detection logic is configured to determine if the term “

required”

immediately follows the “

to be”

verb and if so, whether the word “

to”

is found within the next two words after “

required.”

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the correction logic specifies a proposed edit of deleting the “

to be”

verb, deleting “

required,”

deleting “

to,” and

replacing “

required”

with “

must.”

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the correction logic specifies an edit that comprises deletion of the “

to be”

verb, deletion of “

to,” and

replacement of “

required”

with “

must.”

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sign further comprises a form of a “

to be”

verb and at least one of;

“

required to”

, “

involved”

, and an infinitive form of a verb.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the sign comprises a past participle followed by the word “

by” and

a time noun.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the sign comprises a past participle followed by the word “

by” and

a transport noun.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the detection logic specifies that, when a sentence of said authored text includes a “

to be”

verb followed by a past participle followed by the word “

by”

, a determination is to be made whether an object of “

by”

is one of a plurality of pre-specified time nouns.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the detection logic specifies, for a sentence that includes a “

to be”

verb followed by a past participle followed by the word “

by”

, a determination of whether an object of “

by”

is one of a plurality of pre-specified transport nouns representing something that transports people or things.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is capable of detecting, in connection with said sign, a presence of passive voice in a sentence, and then determining an edit for eliminating the presence of passive voice, wherein the system is capable of determining said edit by a process that comprises identifying a plurality of noun units preceding a “

to be”

verb in the sentence, and applying logic to determine which of the plurality of noun units is an object noun unit.

13. Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable code that directs a computer system to at least:

detect, by application of a rule to a sentence of text, an occurrence of a sign in the sentence, the sign representing a possible occurrence of a writing problem relating to passive voice, the sign comprising a past participle followed by the word “

by” and

a time noun representing time, the sign not being a predetermined phrase; and

determine, in connection with the occurrence of the sign, an edit to the sentence, said edit eliminating the writing problem relating to passive voice.

14. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 13, wherein the sign additionally comprises a “

to be”

verb that precedes the past participle.

15. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 14, wherein the executable code directs the computer system to use a predefined plurality of time nouns to determine whether the sign is present.

16. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 13, wherein the executable code directs the computer system to determine, in connection with a “

to be”

verb followed by the past participle followed by the word “

by”

in said sentence, whether an object of “

by”

is one of a plurality of pre-specified time nouns.

17. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 13, wherein the sign additionally comprises a transport noun, and the executable code directs the computer system to use a predefined plurality of transport nouns to determine whether the sign is present, each transport noun representing something that transports people or things.

18. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 13, wherein the executable code directs the computer system to determine said edit by a process that comprises identifying a plurality of noun units preceding a “

to be”

verb in the sentence, and applying logic to determine which of the plurality of noun units is an object noun unit.

19. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 13, in combination with a computer system programmed with said executable code to detect and correct writing problems.

20. Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable code that directs a computer system to at least:

detect an occurrence of a sign in a sentence, the sign representing a possible occurrence of a writing problem relating to passive voice, the sign comprising a form of a “

to be”

verb and at least one of the following;

“

required to”

, “

involved”

, and an infinitive form of a verb;

determine whether the term “

required”

in the sentence immediately follows the “

to be”

verb and if so, whether the word “

to”

is found within the next two words after “

required”

; and

identify, in connection with the occurrence of the sign, an edit that can be made to the sentence to correct the writing problem.

21. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 20, wherein the edit comprises deleting extraneous text.

22. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 20, wherein the edit comprises deleting the “

to be”

verb and “

to”

, and replacing “

required”

with “

must”

.

23. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 20, wherein the executable code directs the computer system to treat the “

to be”

verb as a false positive when “

involved”

follows the “

to be”

verb.

24. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 20, in combination with a computer system programmed with said executable code to detect and correct writing problems.

25. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

determining that a sentence satisfies the following conditions;

(1) the sentence includes a “

to be”

verb followed immediately by the word “

required”

, and (2) the word “

to”

is one of the next two words after “

required”

; and

in response to determining that the sentence satisfies said conditions (1) and (2), determining an edit that can be made to the sentence to eliminate a writing problem relating to passive voice;

said method performed by a computerized system that comprises one or more computers.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the edit comprises deleting the “

to be”

verb and “

to”

, and replacing “

required”

with “

must”

.