From: "James F. Tims" <p00168@psilink.com>
Subject: A Study Devoid of Rigor
Organization: Semper Excelsior
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 06:35:38 GMT
X-Mailer: PSILink (3.2)

Two files, one composed of atheists' posts the other of theists' posts, 
were created from recent articles in alt.atheism.  Passages were edited 
to exclude message headers, past quotes, etc., so as to simplify the 
structure of the documents.  Only complete paragraphs were selected 
which contained no lists (which confuse grammatical parsing) or quotes 
(obviously not the author's own words).  The atheists' file was 5.7KB and 
the theists' 5.6KB.  The passages were pasted into the test files as 
they were encountered, without regard to the quality of the passage, 
only with whether it expressed the atheistic or theistic viewpoint.  One 
other filter eliminated my own writing from inclusion in the atheists' file.

Each file was put through a grammar checker. 


    The document THEISTS.TXT was analyzed using the rules
    for Fiction writing at the College education level. 
    It is a Standard ASCII document.  The marked-up copy
    is stored in the file THEISTS.OUT.
  
READABILITY INDEX:  7.36
  
    4th        6th       8th       10th      12th      14th
      |****|****|****|*   |    |    |    |    |    |    |
    SIMPLE      | ------ GOOD ----- |               COMPLEX
    Readers need a 7th grade level of education.
        
        Number of Unique Words in Document: 414
        Average Number of Syllables/Word: 1.454
        Average Number of Words/Sentence: 14.859


STRENGTH INDEX:  0.58

    0.0                      0.5                      1.0
      |****|****|****|****|****|*** |    |    |    |    |
    WEAK                                           STRONG
    The strength of delivery is good, but can be improved.


DESCRIPTIVE INDEX:  0.32

    0.1                 0.5                 0.9       1.1
      |****|****|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
    TERSE  | ------------ NORMAL ------------ |     WORDY
    The use of adjectives and adverbs is normal.


JARGON INDEX:  0.00

SENTENCE STRUCTURE RECOMMENDATIONS:
    15. No Recommendations. 

                    << WORDS TO REVIEW >>
Review this list for words that may confuse your message.
These include words that are negative, frequently misused,
colloquial, or jargon.  As you review each word, think of
its effect on the reader.
1    buber    (Colloquial or slang)
1    condemn    (Negative)
1    condemned    (Negative)
1    conflict    (Negative)
1    couldn't    (Negative)
1    death    (Negative)
1    disagree    (Negative)
2    don't    (Negative)
1    enemies    (Negative)
1    enemy    (Negative)
1    escape    (Negative)
2    evil    (Negative)
1    false    (Negative)
1    imposition    (Possible jargon)
3    misleading    (Negative)
4    no    (Negative)
13   not    (Negative)
4    nothing    (Negative)
1    oppression    (Possible jargon)
1    partake    (Often misused)
1    religious    (Possible jargon)
2    salvation    (Possible jargon)
1    shouldn't    (Negative)
1    sin    (Negative)
1    whereby    (Possible jargon)
              << END OF WORDS TO REVIEW LIST >>
                   <<** END OF SUMMARY **>>
  

    The document ATHEISTS.TXT was analyzed using the rules
    for Fiction writing at the College education level. 
    It is a Standard ASCII document.  The marked-up copy
    is stored in the file ATHEISTS.OUT.
  
READABILITY INDEX:  9.50
  
    4th        6th       8th       10th      12th      14th
      |****|****|****|****|****|**  |    |    |    |    |
    SIMPLE      | ------ GOOD ----- |               COMPLEX
    Readers need a 10th grade level of education.
        
        Number of Unique Words in Document: 426
        Average Number of Syllables/Word: 1.569
        Average Number of Words/Sentence: 16.877


STRENGTH INDEX:  0.29

    0.0                      0.5                      1.0
      |****|****|****|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
    WEAK                                           STRONG
    The writing can be made more direct by using:
                       - the active voice
                       - shorter sentences
                       - less wordy phrases
                       - fewer weak phrases
                       - more common words
                       - more positive wording
                       - less slang


DESCRIPTIVE INDEX:  0.46

    0.1                 0.5                 0.9       1.1
      |****|****|****|**  |    |    |    |    |    |    |
    TERSE  | ------------ NORMAL ------------ |     WORDY
    The use of adjectives and adverbs is normal.


JARGON INDEX:  0.00

SENTENCE STRUCTURE RECOMMENDATIONS:
     1. Most sentences contain multiple clauses.
        Try to use more simple sentences.
     7. Most sentences begin with pronouns.
        Try using other sentence start conditions.

                    << WORDS TO REVIEW >>
Review this list for words that may confuse your message.
These include words that are negative, frequently misused,
colloquial, or jargon.  As you review each word, think of
its effect on the reader.
1    against    (Negative)
1    ain't    (Colloquial or slang)
1    anecdotal    (Possible jargon)
1    arguing    (Negative)
2    argument    (Negative)
1    arguments    (Negative)
1    assertions    (Possible jargon)
2    attack    (Negative)
2    can't    (Negative)
2    corroboration    (Possible jargon)
1    deadly    (Negative)
1    death    (Negative)
1    debunking    (Colloquial or slang)
1    doesn't    (Negative)
1    don't    (Negative)
1    economical    (Possible jargon)
2    enumeration    (Possible jargon)
1    ethical    (Possible jargon)
1    ethically    (Possible jargon)
1    fantasizing    (Possible jargon)
1    guilty    (Negative)
1    haven't    (Negative)
1    inconsistent    (Negative)
1    indispensible    (Possible jargon)
1    insignificant    (Negative)
1    irrefutable    (Possible jargon)
1    irrefyutable    (Possible jargon)
1    killed    (Negative)
1    killing    (Negative)
1    meaningful    (Often misused)
1    never    (Negative)
3    no    (Negative)
8    not    (Negative)
1    nothing    (Negative)
1    opposed    (Negative)
2    religious    (Possible jargon)
1    retarded    (Negative)
1    rhetorical    (Possible jargon)
1    sacrificed    (Negative)
1    severely    (Negative)
1    shouldn't    (Negative)
1    significant    (Often misused)
1    spectacular    (Often misused)
1    struggling    (Negative)
1    suppress    (Negative)
1    synonymous    (Possible jargon)
1    uninhabitable    (Possible jargon)
1    waste    (Negative)
1    workable    (Possible jargon)
1    wouldn't    (Negative)
1    wrong    (Negative)
              << END OF WORDS TO REVIEW LIST >>
                   <<** END OF SUMMARY **>>
  
  ,...,.,,
 /666;    ',    jim tims
////;    _~ -   p00168@psilink.com
(/@/----0-~-0
 ;'  . `` ~ \'
  , `    ' , >
;;|\..((   -C----> The list of confusing words is interesting.
;;| >-  `.__),;; 

Newsgroups: alt.atheism,talk.religion.misc