Your readiness report and suggestions

What is this?

Once your document passes the check, we analyze the whole thing. Long documents take several minutes. You will see which section we are on, and you can leave and come back.

The result is a readiness report: what we found, and a short list of suggestions for making the English clearer and easier to translate. You decide about every change. Nothing in your text changes unless you accept or write it.

The status

At the top you will see one of:

• Ready. Nothing is waiting for your decision.
• Needs your input (n). Some suggestions are waiting.
• Cannot continue. We could not finish checking the document.

Suggestions to review

Each suggestion shows the exact text, why we flagged it, and, where we have one, a proposed replacement. For each you can:

• Accept the proposed replacement.
• Edit and type your own wording.
• Keep original and leave it as it is.

What we flag:

• Acronyms and abbreviations that are used but never explained, with a suggested meaning when the document itself makes it clear.
• Hard-to-translate wording, such as idioms, vague pronouns, abstract or uncommon words, and examples tied to one culture. A proposed rewrite is only offered if it keeps exactly the same meaning and adds nothing.
• Very long sentences, with a suggested simpler version.
• Quotations that look like Scripture but have no reference.

Some cards say we are less sure about this one. We show uncertain findings as uncertain rather than hiding them or presenting them as sure.

Quotations without a reference

For these we do not suggest a reference. Choose Add a reference and type one yourself, for example (John 3:16). We check that it is a real Bible reference, and we add it after the quotation. The quoted words are never changed.

Accept all safe suggestions

When many suggestions have a proposed replacement, Accept all applies them in one step. It never includes anything about Scripture or doctrine. Those you review one at a time, and the page tells you how many were left for you.

What else is in the report

• About your document. Word count, average sentence length, an estimated reading level for English text, the structure we found (headings, lists, tables, quotations, footnotes), and an outline.
• Scripture references. Only those written in your document. We do not add any. If we found Bible versions named, such as NLT, they are listed.
• Doctrine topics your document teaches. These help the translation use the right established terms for the language.
• Notes for the translator. Wording and examples that may be hard to translate. No decision is needed.
• Your decisions, so you can see what you changed.

We do not yet read your fonts, colours or spacing, and we do not yet suggest additional passages that teach the doctrines in your document.

Your source text and its versions

Every change you accept or write creates a new version of your text. Your original is always kept. Under Your source text you can see each version and choose Go back to this version. Going back makes a new version too, so nothing is ever lost. A suggestion that depended on a later change is reopened so you can decide again.

If an accepted change rewrites a sentence that another suggestion pointed at, that other suggestion is marked as no longer applying and stops waiting for you.

Approve your source text

When you are happy, choose Approve this source text. If suggestions are still undecided, we ask you to confirm, because approving never decides for you.

Approving freezes the exact version that will be translated. Translation only ever starts from the version you approved. To change it later, choose Reopen to make changes. That also clears any translation made from the old version, and it is not possible while your translation is approved. See translating and the fidelity report.