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If you’re writing an essay for history or a speech for debate class, Wolfram|Alpha is a great resource. It has an enormous words and linguistics database that you can use for such things as word definitions, and word origins, synonyms, and hyphenation. Wolfram|Alpha can even compute the number of pages a given text might produce based on the number of words it contains, such as “500 words in French”. Wolfram|Alpha also has the ability to compute details such how long it should take you to type, read, and deliver that 500-word speech you’ve been preparing.
Type “word contest”, and Wolfram|Alpha will retrieve the word data for the English word “contest”. The results tell you many definitions of the word, that its first known recorded use was in 1603, that it rhymes with “conquest”, and a wealth of other data on just that word.
Wolfram|Alpha also features tools that can calculate and find anagrams, word puzzles and patterns, and transliterations. You can also search for words with specific letter strings. For example, enter “words starting with cat” and Wolfram|Alpha will show you all 175 English words in its dictionary that fit this criteria.
These are just a few examples of how to use Wolfram|Alpha as a writing tool to help you produce your best schoolwork. Do you have a question about using Wolfram|Alpha for writing, or an example of a time when you used Wolfram|Alpha to help strengthen a writing assignment? Submit your questions or work examples on the Homework Day website. Selected submissions could be shown live on the air. Visit the Homework Day site to get started.