I need to know the best rewriting and editing software available which
can perform the grammar correction and rephrasing of the sentences on
its own. There should be an option whereby the corrections and changes
will be done automatically without asking the user. You may suggest
one or two with some features.

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Clarification of Question by vicks1-ga on 13 Oct 2003 01:01 PDT

Let me clarify that Is there a software that will go through the text
and recommend synonyms for the words i have used and suggest some
change of phrases as well

There's no substitute for a real, live editor who has a human brain
and a native speaker's command of the target language.  Ambiguity is
essential to both the effectiveness and the beauty of language, but it
also means that automatic checkers can make hash of sense.

Apteryx

I agree wholeheartedly with Apteryx. Although there have been many
attempts at this, no software exists which can edit grammar in an
acceptable manner. Often the efforts to do this will result in text
that is worse after it has been edited than it was in its raw form.

I agree wholeheartedly with apteryx and pinkfreud. 

For many years I was a full-time photographer doing writing on the
side. In the late 1990s I was able to switch my professional life, and
I'm now a full-time writer doing photography on the side. I do a
little bit of freelance editing, too, mostly for science writers.
English was one of my majors.

There's no software I've heard of that does even an acceptable job of
repairing grammar and syntax. Just for the heck of it one day, I had
my Microsoft Word grammar checker check a page of my writing. The
suggestions weren't even close to professional standards.

I do use Word's spell checker. I'll often make typos, and Word is
great at picking them up. Of course, I'll still go back and do my own
proofing, because spell checkers have weaknesses. BTW, I don't like
the correct-as-you-type spell checker. I have Word do it when I want
it to. That way I don't have the little correction blips distracting
me.

If you like to write but feel that your grammar and syntax skills
aren't up to par, you could try

1. Joining a local writer's group. Your writing would get on-the-spot
critiques from others in the group.

2. Take a college course. Community colleges are great for this sort
of thing. You could also investigate evening courses at a university.

3. Start your own course of study. First, read good authors. Then read
some more! Second, get some style books and read them until you
understand them--until you really get it. One classic I recommend to
new writers is Strunk and White's _The Elements of Style_. It's an
oldie, but still a goodie. Patricia T. O'Conner has written two books
that combine humor with down-to-earth writing advice: _Woe Is I_ and
_Words Fail Me_. These book suggestions assume that you want to learn
to write better in the English language.

4. Write, write, write. You might end up throwing most of it away, but
the practice will do you good.

Vicks1, if you weren't asking for yourself, you might like to give
these pointers to another person.

I know you're not getting the answers you wanted. It'll be a long time
before there's a digital magic pill that can turn weak writing into
solid writing.

G'luck,
dtc