I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because Bogart would rather I spend time feeding him than editing. ;]
No. Really. This sentence defines what my first post in August will be about: editing. Here’s to August–another month of writing, reading, and dreaming is ahead of us, and I wanted to begin with a very helpful website you can consider using for editing purposes.
Grammarly is an online editor, but it is beyond spellchecker. As described on their website, Grammarly “corrects contextual spelling mistakes, checks for more than 250 common grammar errors, enhances vocabulary usage, and provides citation suggestions. More than 3 million registered users worldwide trust Grammarly’s products.”
On top of that, it has numerous settings, including General, Business, Academic, Technical, Creative, and Casual. (I used the casual setting for this post.) There’s also a support page where you can communicate with other writers.
Other things to know I found out while testing this product:
- This program should be used as a “second set” of eyes for your writing–meaning it enhances the editing process, not controls it. But the enhancement is in-depth and clearly labeled. When it highlights your grammar mistakes, it has an option of “short or long descriptions.” These buttons explain what particular rule you might be breaking. That way, you might not make those mistakes in the future, or you will learn what you most commonly forget.
- Grammarly for Desktop includes MS Office integration and other features, but the desktop version is not available for Mac yet. This means you can use it online but not install it on your computer. It’s still great though, because I use a Mac, so this is exactly what I was doing.
- Although the free sample allows you to upload text, it will only give you a list of how many mistakes it found–not the specific mistakes. However, you can sign up (with a credit card) and try a free 7-day trial which allows you to try the complete version for free by allowing you to remove your credit card before the trial has expired.
- If you decide to stay with Grammarly, the prices range by how often you wish to pay (annually, quarterly, or monthly.) The cheapest is annually, but you’ll pay $139.95 once for the entire year. If calculated, that’s about 11.66 a month.
- The grammar check is beyond basic spellchecker, but it is like any other kind of technology. You need to check it yourself. Don’t simply “accept all” or “ignore all.” But most of the suggestions are really great. I was impressed by how many “commonly confused words” it caught and/or other grammatical aspects spellchecker doesn’t always catch.
Basically:
I think Grammarly is a remarkable tool for all kinds of writers, especially self-publishing authors who may not be able to afford numerous (or one) editor. I WISH I had this product during my past four years at college, but at least I’ll be able to use it during my last semester. It’s worth a try. I have to admit that I’m generally skeptical, but this website is definitely bookmarked to be returned to often.
Have you used Grammarly? What do you think?
~SAT
Shannon A. Thompson 
Reblogged this on Ky Grabowski and commented:
She’s done it again, that lovely Shannon Thompson shares some more great tips for writers. This tip can be used even if your not a writer! Check the post out. 🙂
She’s done it again: Ky, being as sweet as she is, has shared another blog post and made my day 😀
~SAT
I haven’t used Grammarly, but I’m glad you mentioned it. I bookmarked the page and will try it.
I had never used it before I was asked to test it either, but I like it :] Let me know if you try it. I’m anxious to hear other opinions.
~SAT
I’ve used it but I didn’t like very I use a program called whitesmoke it works wonders for me
What features does whitesmoke have? I might check that out too!
~SAT
It has an awesome thesaurus helps with grammar and spelling. You can buy different ones too for business or for everyday writing or for creative writing, the one I use.:)
here is the link http://www.whitesmoke.com🙂
Thanks for sharing 😀
~SAT
Welcome:)
Can’t wait to try it!
Let me know if you like or dislike it (or have other softwares you’ve used!) I try to test them out to help other writers.
~SAT
Thanks for the review, Shannon. A writer cannot have too many tools :). I’ll give Grammarly a try.
I agree completely! I think the more tools we have the more we can expand our writing more effectively.
~SAT
Thank you for the information. It sounds very interesting.
Sounds like a great program. What a shame about the price though… 😦
I agree this those sounds really good
Reblogged this on magdalena vandenberg and commented:
I love grammarly too….particularly their facebook posts.
Essays like this are so important to brdneoniag people’s horizons.
Wonderful article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our site.
Keep up the good writing.
Useful to know 🙂 Many thanks for following.
Reblogged this on iBourgie and commented:
This is a really great post and a great blog for the beginning writer.
did you get the free gift card for Amazon after writing this post? Want to make sure it’s not a scam before posting about it on my blog! thanks!
I did. They are very kind.