Posted on Monday, February 3rd, 2014 by Will Hagle
Grammarly is an automated proofreader and personal grammar coach that finds and fixes errors in your writing that traditional word processing programs don’t notice.
Grammarly is the web’s most advanced online automated proofreader. The site reads through text files or uploaded documents and immediately finds and points out any grammar mistakes. While traditional word processors are limited to pointing out spelling and minor grammar mistakes, Grammarly goes in-depth with its analysis. After copy and pasting a block of text or uploading a word processing document, Grammarly quickly returns results in six different areas. The site first checks for plagiarism, or whether or not your work is original compared to other writing found around the web. It also checks for grammar in general, including use of articles, conditional sentences and use of conjunctions. It also checks for spelling correction, sentence structure and punctuation, with sub-categories for each of those items. Grammarly even does a style check, seeking out use of colloquial speech, wordiness, and formatting issues. Overall, the site scans for 250 grammar rules, and it does so in a matter of seconds.
In addition to pointing out your mistakes, Grammarly makes suggestions as to how you should fix them. The site seeks out words that it thinks could have a better impact on the reader, and suggests synonyms as alternatives.Its spell-checker is also more advanced than traditional word processing applications, as it notices errors with common mistakes such as typing “too” instead of “two.” While Microsoft Word, for example, would consider “too” a correctly spelled word, Grammarly understands that when one version is used in the wrong context. The only major downside with Grammarly is that it is somewhat pricey. An individual monthly subscription plan costs $29.95, while annual plans cost $139.95 (without paying for a subscription, I was unable to discover all of the grammar mistakes I may have written in this review). The site also has group subscription for organizations such as schools and the government. Despite the relatively high cost, there are several advantages to paying for Grammarly. Grammarly is available entirely online, so you can copy and paste your writing into the web-based application from anywhere. In addition to its instant, computed analysis, the site also offers 24/7 customer service support from real humans. There is also an option to try the site for a 7-day free trial.