Antidote User Guide

The Retouch view offers suggestions to improve wording where it detects potential style issues. More specifically, this view detects and reformulates the following:

• passive voice (This kind of task can only be performed by a qualified technician. > Only a qualified technician can perform this kind of task.)
• impersonal constructions (There was a fox standing at the end of the driveway. > A fox stood at the end of the driveway.)
• commonplace verbs (We made a decision to cut ties. > We decided to cut ties.)
• double negatives (The plan doesn’t seem completely unworkable. > The plan seems feasible.)
• nested phrases
• long sentences

You can use these subtle yet effective changes to touch up your text so it flows better and feels more dynamic.

• When results are available, a blue dot appears beside the view in the navigation bar.

Multiple Reformulations

Antidote typically reformulates a passage a variety of ways when its length allows. Retouch organizes these reformulation suggestions in the tooltip, from the one most faithful to the source to the most creative option, with fidelity based on the number and nature of the proposed changes. You can compare different suggestions and make your choice by clicking the chevrons on either side of the active reformulation or the grey dots beneath it.

Targeted Reformulation (Style View)

The Retouch view is linked to the Style view in Correction mode. When you Retouch your text, Antidote takes all potential style issues into account. When you review your text in the Style view, however, Antidote handles each issue through a separate filter. If you would like Antidote to make suggestions that target a specific issue, work in the Style view. To reformulate your writing more broadly, click the magic flask icon () in the Style view’s tooltip to switch over to the Retouch view, where you can choose from additional reformulation options.

Antidote offers targeted reformulation for the following types of style detections:

• Passive voice (Constructions filter)
• Impersonal constructions (Constructions filter)
• Long sentences (Readability filter)

• See also the Style View section.