Unveiling the Writing Process Using the Brisk Extension to Analyze Edits, Time, and Trends

Have you ever wondered how a document came together? What edits were made? How much time was spent crafting it? The Brisk Extension's "Inspect Writing" feature offers an insightful way to analyze the writing process behind a Google Doc. However, there’s a key limitation you need to know upfront: Inspect Writing does not work on read-only documents.

For more details, visit the Brisk Inspect Writing page.

How It Works

The Inspect Writing tool is a powerful feature within the Brisk Extension that allows you to view the history of a Google Doc, including:

• Pastes: Number of pasted text entries.
• Edits: The number of changes made to the document.
• Time Spent: How much time the writer(s) invested in the document.
• Trends: Patterns of activity, such as whether work occurred steadily or in bursts.

By selecting the "Inspect Writing" option in the Brisk Extension, you can unlock a timeline of the document's development. For instance, you might discover:

• A document with a single large paste followed by minimal edits.
• A document refined over months or even years, with edits spanning different dates and times.

Why This Matters

Understanding the history of a document can provide context and transparency, particularly for educators. For example, if you notice a significant portion of text was pasted in, it doesn’t necessarily mean the student didn’t write it—they might have worked offline or in another file before pasting it into the document. However, this insight allows you to ask meaningful questions about their writing process and provide targeted feedback.

Key Features in Action

Here’s what happens when you use Inspect Writing:

1. Quick Analysis: The tool reveals pastes, edits, and time data at a glance.
2. Detailed Timeline: You can view when edits were made over weeks, months, or even years. You can speed up or pause the playback to focus on specific periods.
3. Flexible Navigation: Jump to different points in the document's timeline to explore activity trends, such as spikes in editing before deadlines.

For example, one document might show a large paste with minimal editing, while another might reveal hundreds of incremental changes over many hours. The difference tells a story about the approach the writer took, whether it was drafting from scratch or polishing existing content.

A Note on Read-Only Documents

One limitation to keep in mind: the Inspect Writing feature cannot be used on read-only documents. If the document isn’t editable, the tool cannot provide the insights described above. Make sure you have editing access to the document you wish to analyze.

Final Thoughts

The Brisk Extension's Inspect Writing feature is a valuable tool for gaining insights into how a Google Doc was written, edited, and developed over time. Whether you’re an educator looking for transparency or simply curious about your own writing habits, this tool can shine a light on the writing process like never before.

To learn more about how to use this feature, visit Brisk's Inspect Writing page. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out!

Happy writing—and analyzing!