Many writers reject the idea of using software to review their writing. Whether you write for work, on the side, for school or just e-mails, you think: “I don’t need anything else to check my writing”.
But here’s the thing: you probably. No matter how well you can write, how well you master the English language, or how often you skip over something, you are still going to miss something. We all make mistakes, and we can’t always catch them all. That’s where a Grammar check (or proofreading tool) as it can spot the mistakes we often overlook.
And if you want to take a grammar check grammar is probably the best out there. It has the most features with the easiest to use, which is why it is used by millions of people every day.
Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at all of the pros and cons of Grammarly, as well as the difference between the free and pro versions.
What is grammar?
Grammarly is software that checks your writing for errors in spelling, punctuation, clarity, convention, and more. It’s like having your own personal proofreader, but on your computer.
This software is available as a browser extension, add-on, and even a mobile app, so you can use Grammarly on almost any device.
When compared to similar tools, Grammarly goes way beyond that. It checks for more errors than any other software. It is able to recognize differences in convention (for example, writing “color” even though you are using British English).
Grammarly can also provide feedback on their suggestions so that you know Why something is wrong instead of just being told it is wrong.
Grammarly can be a great service for both professional and casual writers. For those who are good with English, it will help spot the mistakes that are happening to you. And for those still learning, it will help you improve faster.
Start Grammarly here
Why you should use a grammar checker
Using a grammar checker doesn’t mean you are poorly written or stupid. It just means that you are making effective use of all the tools at your disposal to help make your writing the best you can.
If you’re writing academically, software like Grammarly can help make your work sound more informative, academic, and less clunky. In professional writing, it helps you appear more professional and make fewer mistakes.
Even when writing emails or posting on social media, it can help to make sure your point of view is clear and concise. No matter what you write, a tool like Grammarly can help.
Plus, if you try Grammarly with the free version, you have nothing to lose. It doesn’t require fancy setup or credit card information, and you can get started on enhanced writing right away.
Grammar professionals
There are many advantages to using Grammarly. Many call it the best grammar checker, and for good reason. Here are some of its best features:
- Clarity: Grammar helps you write more clearly so that you can get your message across more efficiently.
- User friendliness: Grammarly’s simple user interface makes it incredibly easy to use. Almost anyone could find out in less than an hour.
- Capture errors: If all you want is something to spot the mistakes you’re missing out on, Grammarly can easily do it. It will help keep your writing the best it can be.
- Look more professional: With Grammarly’s help, your email and business copy will sound more professional, so you will appear more professional too.
- Education: Grammarly Premium will notify you of every suggestion so you can learn more about why something is wrong. This will help you improve your writing skills for future use.
Grammatical disadvantages
Of course, no software is without setbacks. While the benefits of Grammarly far outweigh the disadvantages, there are still a few things to be aware of:
- Price: As such advanced software, Grammarly is also the most expensive grammar checker on the market. But remember, there is a free version.
- It does not replace a human editor: Nothing can. But while it may not give you all of the feedback a person might be able to, it certainly can be a lot better than having nothing.
- Grammar is not perfect: No software is. Sometimes his suggestions are incorrect and therefore you need to be aware of this and think about each suggestion. But all in all, it’s mostly correct.
Free Features from Grammarly
Many pieces of software like Grammarly have free versions which are highly restricted versions of their product. They cut most of the functions or can only be used for a limited time. Grammarly does neither: although it definitely has fewer features than the premium version, it is still a very helpful tool and can be used indefinitely.
The most common uses of Grammarly are to spot misspellings and minor grammatical errors, and the free version can do all of that. It catches and alerts you to mistakes in your spelling and punctuation.
You can also choose which version of English to use depending on where you or your target audience are. This is also a great way for Grammarly to spot common mistakes, such as: For example, if you are writing in Australian English, spelling something in American English.
Whenever Grammarly detects an error, it is highlighted in red. You can just hover your mouse over the highlighted section to see the feedback, and when you’re ready to accept the change, just click on it.
You can also use the side menu to navigate through all of the suggestions Grammarly made for your text instead of clicking on each one.
Grammarly doesn’t just help with minor mistakes. It can suggest what words you might have meant when you spell something wrong.
It can also suggest substitute words to make a text clearer or more formal. For example, replace “good” with “useful” if that is a specific and appropriate term for the phrase.
Grammarly also provides readability scores when working directly in the Grammarly editor. This score tells you how much effort it takes someone to read your writing and can be a good indicator of how professional your writing is.
Also, Grammarly can detect the tone in email so you know what your writing sounds like. This is a great way to make adjustments if you don’t get the tone you want.
Finally, the free version of Grammarly tells you how many bugs and suggestions the premium version found. Of course, without upgrading to the premium version, you won’t see these suggestions – except for the one or two free ones that you get every now and then.
Grammarly’s premium features
The free version of Grammarly is already a very advanced tool and much better than most of the other tools out there. But the premium version has all of its free features and many more to turn it into software that can vastly improve the quality of your writing.
At the beginning, Premium recognizes more than simple spelling mistakes and can investigate errors in word order or sentence structure. But it also goes beyond grammar to give you other suggestions on how to improve your writing.
It has more word suggestions than the free version, including more substitutions. Grammarly Premium is often much more helpful in finding the most useful word.
The premium version is also much better at detecting errors in context. Sometimes a word or grammatical choice may be technically correct, but it doesn’t make sense in the context of your piece. It will help find these types of errors.
Grammarly Premium also checks for plagiarism, which is a great help. Sometimes plagiarism isn’t intentional: with so much writing, it’s inevitable that you will accidentally copy someone else every now and then. But Grammarly can help you capture these cases so that you can make your writing more unique.
One of the best features of Premium is feedback. With Premium, you are not only told that something is wrong – you are told Why it is wrong. This will help improve your writing skills and make your writing better in the long run.
Finally, Grammarly Premium enables personalized feedback. Whenever you start a new document, you can adjust the settings to clarify your writing goals for that particular document based on intent, audience, style, emotion, and domain.
Then Grammarly can make suggestions to help with that specific goal. It gives you a much more personalized way of getting your writing exactly where you want it to be.
Grammarly Awards
The free version is of course free and can be used indefinitely. However, if you want to take advantage of all of Grammarly’s features, you’ll need to upgrade to Premium.
Premium pricing starts at $ 11.66 per month when billed annually and goes up to $ 29.95 per month when billed monthly. And if you want it for a company, you can get a business plan that allows multiple users and admin roles.
Grammar: The Final Judgment
All in all, Grammarly is an incredibly powerful tool that can go a long way in improving your writing. It checks for small spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors and acts as a proofreader for your work.
It can also provide advanced suggestions for improving clarity, sentence structure, and choice of words. It makes your writing clearer and more effective.
Grammarly can also provide personalized feedback so that you get the best possible support with every document you write. It can even go so far as to achieve the tone you want and make sure your writing is right for your desired audience.
No matter what type of writing you’re doing, Grammarly can really help you. And if you’re not sure, start with the free version. You have nothing to lose and once you start chances are you won’t want to stop.
Start Grammarly here
