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10.11.2022 | Member News & Releases

New AI Tool to Optimize Academic Writing for Researchers

To enhance the often challenging manuscript writing process, Paperpal has introduced a new Microsoft Word Add-in that provides real-time writing assistance for researchers. The tool uses state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) and AI models to make grammar, punctuation, style, and readability suggestions while the user writes, ensuring academics can deliver a high-quality research manuscript. The tool is simple to use, minimizes the need for long hours spent editing and proofreading manuscripts, and reduces the risk of desk rejection.

The percentage of manuscripts rejected by journal editors is in the region of 65%, often due to poor language and inconsistencies in referencing. Misalignment with the journal’s style, aims, and scope is another common reason for rejection. Therefore, it is advised that researchers carry out all the necessary language and technical checks and follow defined author guidelines when preparing their manuscripts for specific publications.

Paperpal’s AI-powered solution is trained on millions of pre- and post-edited academic manuscripts to offer unbiased language feedback and editorial corrections that mirror the standards set by top professional editors and proofreaders. The new Word Add-in is easy to install and can be used directly in Microsoft Word to simplify and accelerate the academic writing process.

“Desk rejection is a real challenge, with one in three manuscripts being returned to authors because of technical issues and 56% being checked two or three times before acceptance,” said Neeraj Sanghani, Business Head of Products at Paperpal. “Our aim is to support academics throughout the publishing process to help improve submission rates. Generic language editing tools can only go so far, which is why our new AI-powered tool is designed to offer technical and subject-specific expertise that will help researchers get their manuscripts over the line.”

Nishchay Shah, Chief Technology Officer at Paperpal, says, “The difference between Paperpal and a regular grammar tool is huge. It’s like the switch from submitting copy produced on a typewriter to using a word processor. It’s a generational improvement in tools for academic publishing. It’s like internet access versus no internet access. There are lots of consumer tools that might flag a problem, but Paperpal will actually understand the topic you are writing about and make suggestions.”

The response from the academic publishing industry has been positive. Several academic publishers have hosted Paperpal’s existing tool, Preflight, on their journal websites to offer authors a quick pre-submission manuscript check. It can, for example, help to identify missing declarations and common language issues. “When our editors first saw Preflight in action, they were blown away,” said Duncan MacRae, Director, Open Access Editorial at Wolters Kluwer.

Sanghani explained, “For researchers, the academic writing experience is about to change forever — the new Word add-in complements our product offering by entering the researcher’s journey before the final draft, allowing them to make changes to their document while they write.”

Despite being less than two years old, Paperpal has already been used by nearly 60,000 academics globally and partnered with nine publishers, including AAAHQ, ASCO, Cambridge University Press, Emerald, IOP, RSOS, Mary Ann Liebert, and Wolters Kluwer.

To find out more about Paperpal’s manuscript writing tool and download the new Word add-in, visit the Paperpal website.

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