Before we begin discussing the top 5 online writing tools, it is imperative to define what an online writing tool is in the first place. Technically, there is no specific set of criteria or requirements that a web app must fulfill for it to qualify as a writer’s tool. As long as a web-based application is capable of helping writers with their work in some capacity, it can be called a writer’s web tool. The three we are going to discuss here are among the most useful options that a writer can potentially have at his/her disposal.
1. Microsoft 365: Word
Microsoft 365 is a software suite of web tools offered in a SaaS format. MS Word is just one of the three main web apps you get access to by subscribing, but it is one of the most comprehensive and universally accepted writer’s online tools available to us today. The same can be said about Microsoft Word 2021, but that one is not a web tool.
MS Word (365) is not just a text editor to type in, it is also an incredibly intricate tool for writers to:
- Check their work for grammatical errors, typos, repeated words, nonsensical sentences, slang, contradictory sentence composition, and so much more.
- Verify the dialect orientation of text by selecting the right dialect while using the inbuilt editor.
- Use the inbuilt Office Dictation tool for jotting down verbally expressed ideas.
- Handwrite (hardware support is necessary) like the old days and use the built-in handwriting-to-text tool for transcription.
The list would be too long, so we will stop here. Despite all the features that are available on Word, most writers don’t know how to use them. This is largely because Microsoft does not make it very easy to find or learn how to utilize Word’s truly amazing set of writing assistance features for some reason!
2. Quetext
We just discussed how comprehensive Microsoft 365’s version of Word is as an online tool for writers. Even though that statement stands unchallenged for the most part, there are certain things that even MS Word can’t do and there are other specialized tools that do a few things better than Word. Quetext is an example of the first kind because it serves as a cloud-based plagiarism checker.
Millions of pieces are written and posted on the internet every single day, and some are plagiarized.
The bottom line is that whether a writer intends to do so or not, their writing might be marked as copyright infringing upon publishing. A cloud based plagiarism checker like Quetext negates that risk as the online tool enables them to check their writing against potential plagiarism allegations before they publish them. It prevents a professional writer from going in blind and hoping that they won’t be flagged for copyright infringement. The fact that the web app also checks for grammatical errors and misspellings is an added advantage.
3. RhymeZone
Do you really need a dictionary separately these days when a single right-click on a word can show you multiple synonyms and antonyms in most text editors? If you are a writer then the answer is yes, you can certainly benefit from having a useful little web dictionary like RhymeZone by your side.
Smart as AI may be, it still has very little understanding of context. RhymeZone is not a web tool that assumes it knows better than you, but it can offer synonyms, antonyms, explanations, definitions, and even rhyming alternatives to those looking to add a poetic flair to their writing. You define the parameters, and the web tool does what it’s supposed to.
As a writer, one should try to align their writing to the content’s needs. For example, a children’s storybook should be as simple as possible. Similar language cannot be used for critically analyzing Hitchcock’s Vertigo for obvious reasons. Therefore, it is perhaps best to keep that in mind while writing with the help of assistive tools. Rely on the tools for assistance, don’t depend on them to tell you how to write!