AI Writing Assistance

The Write workspace includes an inline conversational AI writing assistant. Instead of running a generic style scan, you can describe what you want in plain language -- for example, "I like this, but it's a bit long" -- and get targeted suggestions for improving grammar, style, clarity, and academic rigor. Unlike generic writing tools, AcaTrove's assistant is research-aware -- it understands academic conventions and can draw on your linked research context.

Requesting Suggestions

From the Write workspace, you can ask for targeted help on your current draft:

1. Write or paste your content in the editor.
2. Optionally select a sentence or paragraph if you want the assistant to focus on a specific passage.
3. In the AI Writing Assistant card, type a conversational request such as "Tighten this paragraph" or "I like the point, but this is a bit long."
4. The assistant replies with a short explanation and, when appropriate, a set of reviewable suggestions.

The assistant uses your current document, the optional selection, and any linked research context (projects, labs, or publications) to shape its response.

Free-Tier Limit

Hosted Free accounts currently get 5 AI writing-assistant requests per week.

Types of Suggestions

The AI writing assistant produces several categories of suggestions:

Grammar corrections -- Identifies grammatical errors, subject-verb agreement issues, tense inconsistencies, and punctuation problems. Each correction includes the original text and a proposed replacement.

Style improvements -- Recommends changes to improve academic tone and readability. This includes simplifying overly complex sentences, eliminating unnecessary jargon, and improving parallel structure.

Clarity enhancements -- Flags ambiguous or vague passages and suggests more precise alternatives. The AI identifies sentences where the meaning could be misinterpreted and offers rewrites.

Research-aware suggestions -- When your document is linked to a project or lab, the AI can suggest improvements based on your research data. This might include recommending that you reference a finding from one of your publications, strengthening an argument with data from your project, or identifying where a citation would be appropriate.

Applying Suggestions

Each suggestion appears as a discrete item with:

• A short title
• The original text
• The proposed replacement
• A brief rationale explaining why the change helps

Nothing changes in your draft until you click Apply on an individual suggestion.

You can also:

• Dismiss -- Removes that suggestion from the current session without changing the draft.
• Undo Last AI Change -- Reverts the most recent AI-applied edit and restores that suggestion to reviewable status.

There is no auto-apply step. Review remains explicit and suggestion-by-suggestion.

Research Context Integration

The quality of AI suggestions improves significantly when you link research context to your document. The Research Context Panel (accessible from the Write workspace) lets you connect:

• Projects -- The AI references project documents when suggesting improvements.
• Labs -- Lab-level context provides broader research background.
• Publications -- Specific papers can be imported or referenced for citation suggestions.

For example, if you are writing about a methodology and have a linked publication that describes that methodology in detail, the AI might suggest adding a self-citation or incorporating specific data points from your published work.

AI Panel Editing

In addition to the inline assistant card, you can use the Research AI Panel sidebar for broader document editing. Open the panel, ensure the scope is set to your current document, and type editing instructions like:

• "Improve the transition between sections 2 and 3."
• "Make the abstract more concise."
• "Strengthen the argument in the discussion section."

The panel provides redline previews of proposed changes that you can apply or discard. See AI-Powered Document Editing for details.

Tips

• Use natural requests. The inline assistant works best when you describe the issue in plain language instead of choosing from fixed checker modes.
• Select a passage first when you want feedback on one paragraph instead of the whole document.
• Link at least one project or publication before asking for revisions. Research-aware suggestions are substantially more useful than generic grammar corrections.
• Use the inline assistant for targeted patch suggestions and the Research AI Panel for larger rewrites or broader editorial conversation.
• Review each suggestion carefully before applying it. The AI generally produces high-quality recommendations, but your domain expertise is essential for deciding whether a proposed change fits your argument and evidence.