Assessing Grammarly: Aid or Constraint?
In the realm of writing, a tool that can help polish and refine text has become an essential part of many authors' arsenal. One such tool, Grammarly, has been making waves in the literary world for its ability to catch a wide range of errors and provide suggestions for improvement.
Julianne Johnson, a prolific author with a diverse menagerie of pets, recently found Grammarly to be a valuable asset while writing her book, "Descending." The program, which catches punctuation mistakes such as commas after introductory phrases and incorrect dialogue tags, proved particularly helpful in correcting British spellings and usage, like changing "gray" to "grey."
However, it's important to note that while Grammarly is a powerful tool, it is not infallible. It may occasionally miss errors or suggest incorrect corrections, making it essential to rely on professional editing for the best results.
For those seeking a more comprehensive writing experience, Grammarly's paid versions offer extensive additional features beyond basic grammar and spelling correction. These include over 400 advanced writing checks, an AI writing assistant, full sentence rewrites, advanced tone detection and adjustment, a plagiarism checker, a citation generator, priority customer support, and access through mobile apps.
In contrast, the free Microsoft Word plugin primarily provides basic spelling and grammar checks, simple punctuation correction, and basic tone detection with no advanced style or vocabulary suggestions.
The differences between the free and paid versions can be summarised in the table below:
| Feature | Grammarly Free (Word Plugin) | Grammarly Premium (Paid Versions) | |-----------------------------------|------------------------------|-----------------------------------------| | Basic grammar & spelling checks | ✅ | ✅ | | Advanced grammar & punctuation | ❌ | ✅ | | AI writing assistant | ❌ | ✅ | | Clarity and conciseness suggestions | ❌ | ✅ | | Vocabulary enhancement | ❌ | ✅ | | Tone detection and adjustment | Basic | Advanced | | Full sentence rewrites | ❌ | ✅ | | Plagiarism checker | ❌ | ✅ | | Citation generator | ❌ | ✅ | | Priority support & mobile app | ❌ | ✅ | | Business features (custom roles, style guides, analytics) | ❌ | Enterprise only |
For those with business or enterprise needs, Grammarly offers features like custom user roles, style guides to maintain consistent brand voice, analytics dashboards, and internal knowledge sharing functions.
In Julianne Johnson's case, while Grammarly suggested changing the word "potion" in her writing, she affirmed it was intentional. Nevertheless, the program found issues in "Descending" that she was happy to get corrected.
Grammarly's paid version starts at about $12 per month with annual billing and expands capabilities greatly for more professional and polished writing, especially for longer or business-related texts.
In conclusion, Grammarly is a valuable tool for writers, providing a wide range of features to help refine and polish text. While it should not be relied on solely for error-free writing, it can be a valuable asset in the writing process.
[1] Grammarly.com/pricing [2] Grammarly.com/features [3] Grammarly.com/business [4] Grammarly.com/enterprise
Technology and gadgets can assist authors in refining their writing, with Grammarly being a prime example. This program, especially its paid versions, offers advanced features beyond basic grammar and spelling correction, such as AI writing assistant, tone detection, plagiarism checker, and more. These enhancements can help writers craft more polished and professional texts.