It may not be the most useful when it comes to getting the target word (it can 
be, though), but looking at your previous submissions can give you ideas for 
what words are possible with the current spread of letters. So you entered the 
word "dot", are there any other words that can build on that base? Maybe "dote",
"dots", or even "idiot"? Some versions of Text Twist even put your previous 
submissions in alphabetical order (grouping them by length first). 
So, if you see "bet" and "jet" with one missing word in between, it could very 
well be "get", for example.