Lattuce tutorial · Writer
Edit, proofread, and paraphrase in Writer
Edit, proofread, paraphrase, and review academic writing in Writer while keeping revisions grounded in context.
Use revision tools to improve a human-owned draft, not to outsource the argument. Keep the original meaning and citations in view, make one focused change at a time, and use hunk review to decide what enters the paper.
Which product to use
| Task | Use |
|---|---|
| Edit or proofread a paper section | Writer → Write or Focused write (/papers, /papers/write) |
| Throwaway text (no paper or note) | Polish → /polish — browser-only scratch pad; guests throttled |
| Rule-based grammar highlights | Writer section editor (grammar toggle) or Notes vault |
| Paraphrase or tighten cited text | Writer → select text → Paraphrase, Shorten, or Fix grammar |
| Bilingual revision (EN↔MS) | Translate mode or Weblate — not same-language polish |
| Learn why grammar is wrong while reading | Learner — not for manuscript editing |
Writer workflows
Revise a selection
- Open a paper in Write mode.
- Select at least eight characters in the section editor.
- Use the floating toolbar or Assistant → Revise selection:
- Fix grammar — clarity and grammar (LLM)
- Paraphrase — vary wording while preserving meaning
- Humanize — reduce stylistic risk
- Shorten, Tighten, Ideas, or More → Formalize / Extend
Select the smallest span that contains the problem. Include the sentence before a pronoun or transition when context affects meaning, but do not select the whole paper for a local grammar fix. Read the proposed change beside the original before accepting it.
Polish whole section (hunk review)
- Open Assistant → Review section (polish-intent papers) or use Polish section in the polish checklist.
- Confirm whole-section polish when prompted; review hunks before commit.
Selection assist uses hunk review by default for Fix, Paraphrase, Humanize, Shorten, and Tighten. Set NEXT_PUBLIC_POLISH_SESSION_WRITE=0 only if you need the legacy streaming preview path.
Review a whole section (grammar and style)
- Open Assistant → Review section.
- Click Review section for grammar, style, grounding, and academic lint counts.
- Use Previous / Next in the issue navigator to jump to each flagged span in the editor.
- Use the result chips to turn on grammar underlines or style-risk markers in the editor.
- Click a grammar underline to apply a suggestion or run Fix with AI.
Grammar underlines
Enable Show grammar underlines in the section editor options.
- English sections use Harper in the browser when available (no network by default).
- Non-English paper languages (e.g. Malay
ms-MY, Germande-DE) use LanguageTool on your operator's server; draft text is sent for analysis. - Operators can set
NEXT_PUBLIC_WRITER_GRAMMAR_PROVIDER=languagetoolorWRITER_LANGUAGETOOL_API_URLfor an English server fallback when Harper is unavailable.
Production builds should pass npm run verify:harper-wasm (also run in CI for notes-shell and Next.js).
A safe review pass
- Save or snapshot the current section before a large rewrite.
- Run grammar and style review, then fix high-confidence issues first.
- Check that citations, numbers, names, and qualifiers survived each accepted hunk.
- Reject suggestions that change the claim, invent evidence, or flatten an intentional voice.
- Read the section from the beginning after the last hunk so transitions still work.
Notes vault
Notes support English grammar preview on markdown. Checks use Harper on-device when available. In the live TipTap editor, select text to open the floating toolbar — Fix grammar, Paraphrase, Shorten, and related actions call POST /api/notes/transform/stream.
See also
When a change needs source context, return to Sources in Writer. For a clean throwaway rewrite, use the Polish scratch pad.
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