Honestly, I am not the strongest writer. But Grammarly has significantly improved what I compose.
In 2011, I started a blog. Since then, I have been contributing to multiple blogs and I have written one book. This requires a lot of writing. Approximately, two years ago, I started to use Grammarly to help improve my writing. Even though I was using the free version, it immediately made a difference. Grammarly identified basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation issues. My current posts are better than the ones I pushed out the door when I first started. I know this because I am refreshing my posts and I am embarrassed by what I see. Fortunately, Grammarly is helping me clean them up.
What Is Grammarly?
Very simply, Grammarly is an editing tool. It will help you identify common writing errors such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
While other applications, such as Microsoft Word, have grammar and spell checking tools, I have become fond of how Grammarly identifies and presents the errors. It uses different colors to identify correctness, clarity, engagement, and delivery.
With the free version of Grammarly, you will discover critical grammar and spelling errors. With the premium version, so much more is possible.
Why I Upgraded to Grammarly Premium
My writing had improved significantly since I started using Grammarly’s free version. Since I had been using Grammarly for a couple of years and became a loyal fan, I thought it was right to start paying for the service. I am glad I did. This act has made my writing more fun because of the features available.
One of the first features I started to use was synonyms. Grammarly pointed out that I was repetitive and offered suggestions to prevent this. Additionally, I could double click on any word and see a list of synonyms focused on different meanings. This capability allowed me to be more creative with my writing and not so boring.
Here are other features that I am learning about:
Overall Score – Grammarly will score your writing based on other text it reviews for the same goals. It will also provide word counts and the time it will take to read or speak the text. Grammarly will also provide a readability score and let you know which reading audience the text is crafted for.
Grammarly Overall Score
Goal Setting – You can set goals for the audience you are writing for as well as set the formality. Additionally, you can identify the domain your writing for such as academic, business, general, technical, casual, or creative. I have not experimented with this but I plan to. You can also make adjustments to the tone and intent of your writing.
Grammarly Goals
Plagiarism – You also have the ability to check your content for plagiarism. Apparently, in my teaching philosophy document, I am using a similar phrase as someone who makes homemade sauerkraut.
PDF Report – You have the capability to download a detailed report with all the findings.
I am very happy with what the upgrade has provided me.
Install and Activate the Grammarly Apps
If you go to Grammarly.com, you will be encouraged to add the browser extension. Because I use Chrome, I am encouraged to add the Chrome extension. This is how I got started with Grammarly. Once you have added the extension, you will need to create an account and log in to use even the basic features.
When you first log in or when you again visit Grammarly.com, you will go to the web version of Grammarly. From the web version, you can install Grammarly for the following:
- Web browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge
- Computer desktop: Mac and PC (check desktop version)
- Microsoft Office: Mac and PC
- Grammarly Keyboard: iOS and Android
Grammarly also has a beta version for Google Docs. I have been using this feature as I work in my Google Apps.
I have loaded Grammarly for my web browser, my desktop, and Microsoft Office. As I use it, I discover new capabilities.
How to Use Grammarly
The key to using Grammarly is to simply log in. It then just works. Let me explain how it works for four common scenarios.
Web Browser
When you are working in an application on the web such as Gmail, Facebook messenger, Facebook, Slack, LinkedIn, a blog post, or another application, Grammarly will identify areas of concern as you write.
You know that Grammarly is working because the Grammarly logo can be seen in the lower right corner of your document.
As you are writing, you can decide to accept the recommended changes or not. You are always in control of your content. Grammarly will not automatically make changes.
If you click on the logo, it will pop up a window in which you can focus on the edits. One word of caution when doing this, if you are using code such as an iframe, Grammarly will strip this content when you return to your document.
Web-Based and Windows
With both the web-based and desktop version of Grammarly, you upload a document. Once the document is uploaded, Grammarly will run its analysis on the content. You can upload a document by simply dragging and dropping the document on the program. Grammarly will accept the following file types: MS Word (.doc, .docx), OpenOffice (.odt), .txt and .rtf.
To view the results of the analysis, simply open the document. Once you have made all the changes that you wish to make, you can download the document. It is important to note that the file will download as a .DOCX file even if you uploaded a different format.
Grammarly Analysis
Microsoft Office
If you have installed the Microsoft Office add-in, you will see a tab called Grammarly. Additionally, you will see a Grammarly option on the Home tab.
When you click on the Open Grammarly button, Grammarly will display a menu and start analyzing your document. It will provide all the different checks previously discussed. You have the ability to turn these checks on and off. You also have the ability to change the domain or type of writing.
Unfortunately, I have not had much success with the Microsoft Word Grammarly plug-in. For me, that is ok because I do most of my writing on the web or in Google docs, but others may want this feature. I would encourage you to test it out.
Google Beta
My experience with Grammarly for Google Docs has been positive. I am used to Google being in beta so I accept that there may be some hiccups along the way.
The Google version of Grammarly works similarly as the browser version. The Grammarly icon will be running at the bottom right corner of Google Docs. Throughout the document, you will see the issues as they occur. You can also double click on a word to see a synonym.
How I Use Grammarly to Check My Documents and Posts
I have been drafting all my documents in Scrivener. I do this because I have templates set up for my different types of writing. Unfortunately, Grammarly does not work with Scrivener. Nonetheless, once I finish drafting my document, such as this blog post, I will export it in a format that I can use Grammarly. This is typically a blog post. This is good because I can separate my writing from my editing.
I will copy and paste the content into WordPress where Grammarly will immediately go to work. At that point, I will edit my document based on Grammarly’s suggestions. As I mentioned, I have been very happy with the suggestions Grammarly provides.
Summary
Realizing that I was a weak writer, I knew that I needed some assistance. Grammarly provided one important level of assistance. Immediately, the quality of my writing improved. I use the lessons learned on each document on each subsequent document.
When I upgraded my account to a premium version, I received an additional boost. The new features have allowed me to be more creative. Now, I need to explore all the other features.
I have been so pleased with Grammarly that I not only invested as a premium member but I am also an affiliate. I gladly recommend others use Grammarly.
Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash
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