Zahra ShafieeSpring 2014

WordSmith Concordancing Tool

In my report on Concordancing, I complained about the vagueness of these tools. It was before I downloaded and thoroughly examined the WordSmith tool.

Now, after downloading it completely, I found a substantial manual in it, which exceeds 300 pages. It’s the type of manual that even somebody like ME can understand it.

Let’s together take a look at the software alongside some pages of the book.

First, it’s noteworthy that the software should be purchased. What I review is the unregistered version which is demo.

The main window is made up of different tabs to different sections that provides no instruction and without prior instruction you may, like me, get confused.

To make things more complicated, just click the tabs to see how much information you get.

However, I could do ordinary things like changing the language and signs. Better than nothing!

Then, I went to the manual with a shortcut opened on desktop.I highly recommend it. Don’t miss the guide.

You can begin from the first step, to getting to know what behind any tab is, to getting really started.

Other pages explain the functions of each part, like languages and accents, customizing menus, up to choosing texts.

Then, it demonstrates samples of the results, including frequencies, marking entries, computing new columns of data, etc.

Of other points to mention are describing how to mark entries and match the words in lists.

Finally, even layout and formats for printing setting are elaborated.

However, It seems to fit corpus-based research purposes only. still I don’t know how to use it for instructional purposes.

THANK YOU