Here's a utility that's fun and practical. The program is a free add-on to Word and Power Point that identifies jargon and buzz words. It spots language that might be considered "bull". The program also scores your document using several methods. The add-on is aptly called Bull Fighter and was developed by Deloitte Consulting.

The product consists of a simple toolbar with three buttons. The first button, called Bullfighter, reviews the document for words that detract from your message. The second button, Bull Index, displays a summary of your document using its own index and the Flesch index. The scores show how clear your writing is to the audience. The last toolbar button, Bull Tools, allows you to ad bull words to the dictionary.

At first, we were skeptical of the program and thought it was more cute than useful. We changed our opinion after using it against correspondence we received. This test bed included an assortment of documents including advisories, press releases, and resumes. It was interesting to see how many of these "bull" terms find their way into writing.

The tool won't cure your bad writing habits, but it delivers a good tool for first drafts.

• Cost: Free
• Requires: Microsoft Word 2000 or newer
• URL: www.fightthebull.com