Polish scratch pad

Use Polish (/polish) to fix, paraphrase, humanize, shorten, or tighten any text without creating a paper or vault note.

Polish is deliberately separate from source-grounded Writer editing. Use it for a quick rewrite or diagnostic pass, then move only the accepted result into a paper or note after checking the meaning yourself.

How it works

1. Open Polish from the left side nav (✦) or go to /polish.
2. Paste or type your text (or Import text from a .txt / .md file). Choose English or Bahasa Melayu for scan language.
3. The workbench auto-scans after you pause typing (or click Scan text manually) to highlight stiff or AI-like phrasing (advisory only).
4. Select at least eight characters, or use span actions from the scan panel.
5. Use the floating toolbar: Fix grammar, Paraphrase, Back-translate, Humanize, Shorten, or Tighten — pick a Tone preset when needed.

Back-translate rephrases via an EN↔MS pivot translation to vary wording while preserving meaning. It uses more LLM time than Paraphrase alone. External detector scores remain advisory only — not proof of authorship. 6. Review hunks (accept, reject, or edit custom text). When rejecting, optionally pick a reason chip (meaning changed, too aggressive, wrong tone, introduced error, prefer original). Try Another version if offered, then Commit polish. 7. Copy or Download the result, or Save to polish paper (DOCX) to import into a full Writer polish-intent paper.

If Fix grammar escalates to Humanize because of heavy AI/corporate phrasing, the review pane shows an escalation notice.

On narrow screens, use the Edit | Scan | Review tabs to switch panes.

Your draft is stored in this browser only (localStorage). It is not added to Manuscripts or Notes unless you copy it elsewhere or create a polish paper.

A good scratch-pad loop

1. Paste a short, coherent passage and choose the correct scan language.
2. Scan first so you can distinguish a style warning from a real grammar issue.
3. Apply one transformation at a time and inspect each hunk.
4. Reject changes that alter claims, citations, names, or intended uncertainty.
5. Copy or download the final text, then preserve it in the destination paper or note.

Do not use detector scores as an authorship verdict. They are advisory signals; fidelity, clarity, and your own editorial judgment are the acceptance criteria.

Signed-in users see Recent polish session summaries (server-side history; not the scratch text itself).

Guest access

Polish works without signing in. Guests get:

• A short wait before each AI response (configurable on the server)
• A lower hourly request limit per IP

Sign in for normal Writer AI speed and plan limits.

GET /api/polish/status is read-only and does not count against the guest transform quota.

Operators

Polish rejection feedback

Export polish audit rows (platform admin Polish audit tab or GET /api/admin/polish/audit), then aggregate rejected hunks into feedback-pattern JSON:

python3 scripts/aggregate_polish_rejections.py --in audit-export.json --out polish-rejections.json

Use the output to tune prompts or style-guard thresholds. Aggregation buckets include structured reject_reason × mode × locale when present. Offline quality regression (style risk + fidelity):

python3 scripts/eval_polish_quality.py --baseline tests/fixtures/polish_eval/baseline_offline.json

Live mode matrix (operator host with LLM keys):

python3 scripts/eval_polish_quality.py --live --modes fix,vary_rhythm,simplify,tighten,humanize

See also

• Edit, proofread, and paraphrase in Writer — section review and citations inside papers
• Compose a draft — grounded academic writing