I’ve been curious about the advantages of Grammarly for a few years. In the past several months, I’ve seen more authors and writers talking about this online grammar service. While surfing videos on YouTube, I saw a commercial for Grammarly. I checked it out and was impressed with what I found. At the time, I could not justify the cost because I was not writing very much.
About a month ago, a representative from Grammarly contacted me and asked if I would test run Grammarly in exchange for an honest review. I thought about it and decided now was the time I need it most. I am posting more reviews on my blog, polishing a manuscript, and working on other writing projects. Now seemed like the perfect time to test drive this service.
The daughter of an English teacher should have good grammar, right? Well, not so much. I use my online dictionary and thesaurus every day. I rely on Spellcheck to catch my mistakes. Grammarly catches so much more.
First, let me tell you how Grammarly is set up.
Once you login, this is what you will see on the left side of the screen.
In the main area of the screen is your My Grammarly. There you will find an icon labeled NEW where you can upload new content or paste text. This is where all your documents will be stored until you delete them. There is also a search function if you have numerous documents stored here.
When you upload your document or paste your text, you will see a toolbar on the left side of the screen.
The house icon will take you back to the My Grammarly screen.
The paper icon gives you options to create a new document, paste text, or upload a document.
The down arrow icon lets you copy your updated text or download your updated document in the original format.
The pen icon is one of my favorite features. This is where you can specify what type of document you are working on. Since this section of text is from my new manuscript, I chose Creative, then Novel. You can also use the toggle buttons to turn on and off specific functions.
The magnifying glass icon is extremely important with the work I am doing. Even a line or two replicated can be disastrous. Two percent is low, but could still be a problem if not checked.
This was the unoriginal phrase that the plagiarism checker caught. I do not think of this as a unique phrase, so I think I can get by with keeping it in or rephrasing it.
The book icon is to toggle on and off the vocabulary enhancement. When this is on, you will see a book icon next to some information. Normally, it will show you repetitive and overused words. I get caught using love a lot. Such is the life of a Romance novelist!
This is what you will see at the bottom of your screen. It tells you the type of document you are working on, the word count, how many critical issue were found, what percent of your document is unoriginal content, and your overall score.
When you click on your score, you get this!
This made me feel so good! I can pat myself on the back for this. I still have a little work to do, but not bad for the first run through. You can also download a detailed report to save or print out for a hard copy if you like.
On the right side of your text is where the fun stuff happens. This is where you will find the digital red pen. Here are a few of the things I got marked off on.
I do not know why I have such a hard time with Passive voice, but I do. Ugh! This catches those instances where you goof up, and if you click on MORE, you are given examples of the correct usage.
Squinting modifier? What? I had to click MORE to get an example of this.
Oh! I get it. Learn something new every day.
Using THIS as the subject of a sentence is a big no-no. *slaps hand*
I only had one of these, but I thought this was a fantastic asset. I read so many incomplete comparisons these days. Whew! If only they had
Grammarly.
This is a good tool, but in this instance it made me laugh. I did mean “ding” in the sentence, explaining a message alert on a cell phone.
While technically ending a sentence with a preposition is not wrong, it can be confusing to the reader if not done correctly. Thanks
Grammarly for catching this!
Grammarly catches the most basic and common mistakes.
It also shows you where to take them out.
Replacing misused or misspelled words is a breeze. Just click the correct form in green and
Grammarly replaces it for you.
A feature that I absolutely love is the weekly update emails
Grammarly sends you so you can track your progress.
My overall experience with
Grammarly has been extremely positive. I found it tremendously user-friendly. I love how detailed it is and how clear the explanations are. The only con I found was that I could only upload twenty pages per document. I do not know if that is true with all accounts or just with my test account. I will have to double check on that.
Is this the end all be all for all your grammar needs? No. This is still a computer program, and nothing replaces a human editor. If you are in need of an automated proofreader and personal grammar coach,
Grammarly is for you. So if you are a student, a writer, a journalist, or a blogger, take a look at
Grammarly and see if it will help your words say what they need to say.
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