Grammarly is an automated proofreader that checks for more than 400 different types of grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors, and offers suggestions to enhance vocabulary usage and citations. Writers can use Grammarly’s online text editor or install the free extension for their browser of choice. Currently, Grammarly offers extensions for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.
For writers who want a more robust Grammarly application, a premium version is also available. In addition to the features offered for free, Grammarly premium provides synonyms and definitions, allows a writer to perform genre-specific writing style checks, and enables the addition of words to a personal dictionary. Grammarly premium also offers a passive voice and wordiness detector, as well as a plagiarism detector that automatically checks over eight billion web pages to ensure originality. Writers can pay for the premium version on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.
Like other tools that writers use to enhance their work, Grammarly doesn’t offer a foolproof solution. But it can help you catch mistakes that might otherwise be overlooked.
While some writers might question the necessity of adding this tool to their arsenal–especially when word-processing software often comes with similar capabilities–the free version of Grammarly offers robust features that streamline the writing process. For example, when writing unusual words, such as non-English names, Grammarly will flag them if they are misspelled and offer the correct spelling in the drop-down menu.
The free version is worth trying out to determine its usefulness for the individual writer, while Grammarly premium is a must-have for the busy professional who does not have much time for proofreading.
About the author
Katie S has been writing for many years, either for academic reasons or for her own pleasure. She has been a freelance writer, concentrating on crafting concise, interesting and exciting copy for a variety of clients in many different industries, including the fields of law, medicine, sports and more.
