(703) 596-1353
Update 10/10/2012: We’ve updated this post in some places to reflect how we are currently using Grammarly and to include a detailed Grammarly Review– exactly what our thoughts are after over 18 months of using the tool.
—-
We were recently introduced to the Grammarly tool and we’ve been having a blast with it. Grammarly is a ridiculously powerful Grammar check tool that has a lot of interesting uses for online marketing, content marketing, SEO, and writing in general. We’ve been using it to QA all of the content that we publish online for ourselves and our clients and the results have been great. It results in content that is more professional because it is error free, and it also suggests different words to use instead of standard/generic adjectives to bring about more interest and flair in the piece of content.
Grammarly bills itself as the “world’s most accurate grammar checker”. Although our exposure to grammar and spelling tools is limited to those squiggly red and green lines that Microsoft Word uses, we certainty don’t disagree with the tagline. The depth of the scans and the explanations are lightyears beyond what you get out of those colored underlines in Word.
The process for using Grammarly is pretty straight forward. You login to the website with either a username/password or through your Facebook account and you are taken directly to a large input screen (pictured below). You simply copy and paste your text into this box and click the big button to begin the scan. It takes just a minute or so and what you get back is a rich set of findings and recommendations. Simple interfaces like this are great; there aren’t a bunch of checkboxes or setting screens, it is just very clean and simple to use.
Grammarly also has a tool that plugs directly into Microsoft Word. It makes the power of Grammarly just one click away from a Word document. As soon as you click the Grammarly button in Word, your document content is put right into the Grammarly website tool for analysis. Update: Since our last writeup, Grammarly has completely rebuilt their Word Plug-in. The new version allows the Grammarly check to happen right inside of Word. It doesn’t send you off to the Grammarly website anymore – nice!
One of the great parts about Grammarly is that many colleges and universities across the United States have purchased blanket memberships for all of their students to take advantage of. Knowing that Grammarly has prestigious institutions such as UC Irvine, Alabama State, and George Mason (my alma mater) as customers who have purchased the tool for their student population provides a level of comfort as a customer, knowing that some very smart people in academia have approved of it. Its also a nice benefit for the students at those colleges to have the tool available to them for unlimited use for free.
So, How Do We Use This Tool?
We are a remote workforce. We are a team, we all work full-time on this business, but we don’t have a central location that we all drive to everyday. Rather, we communicate constantly through Google Chat, Hangouts, Skype, email, and the like. We’re physically in our home offices, coffee shops, libraries, sofas, or any other random location you could imagine. There are a number of great advantages to this, including the elimination of commuting, dressing up just to dress up, more family time, a more flexible schedule with a focus on getting work done rather than on hours in a seat, etc, etc.
While we don’t feel there are a ton of downsides to this because we heavily leverage online communication tools, what we do miss is pulling someone over to your desk to “have a look at this, real quick”. There just isn’t a virtual equivalent to the instant satisfaction of having someone review something over your shoulder (although real time editing in Google Docs is very, very close).
That is where Grammarly fits in perfectly. Rather than call someone over, we simply paste text into Grammarly and get that instant satisfaction that a grammar-savvy co-worker would provide when editing your work.
We write a lot: blog posts, guest blog posts, proposals, guides, and the list goes one. Pretty much the only thing that we aren’t using Grammarly for is social media updates… because, I mean, c’mon, it would flag everything in a Twitter update! In fact, this meme from the Grammarly Facebook page pretty much sums up grammar on Twitter:
Subscribe to the Grammarly Facebook page – they share gems like this on a daily basis – really
The Good
We’ve found our writing has improved the most from the synonyms that are provided. Grammarly will frequently point out overused and less-descriptive words and provide more powerful options. Little things like this can really increase the perceived quality of your writing. For example, Grammarly may point out that instead of saying ‘it was a really big building’, you might consider saying ‘it was a massive structure’.
We don’t use the plagiarism analysis piece much, as all of our content is original research, but I could see how that could really come in handy for students and professors alike.
Of course, the core of the tool is the grammar checker, and we use that quite a bit. As you might be able to tell, we write pretty casually, so we just take some suggestions and ignore others. We like to maintain our voice while still being grammatically correct when we should be.
The Bad
The downside of accepting some changes and rejecting others is that your 100-point score will never be perfect. Its a minor thing, but it would give better closure if an article that started out as a 50 later scores 100 after improving/editing. Other than that, though, which I admit is pretty picky, I think everything else is really good.
What Would We Like to See Next?
A WordPress Plug-in! Seriously, that would rule. Whether it functioned like the original Word plug-in where it would just kick the content over to grammarly.com for review, or a full-blow analysis right from within WordPress, integration in WP would be great. 75% of our writing takes place within the ‘Post’ screen on WordPress, so integration here would be amazing. Facebook refers to their Like button and other sharing features as ‘frictionless’, because it is so easy for a user to ‘Like’ or ‘Share’. I would love it if spell and grammar checking my content, anywhere, were frictionless. Something to strive for, Grammarly folks!
Other Reviews
Googling around, we’ve found some other reviews that seem to mirror our experience and use cases. A couple you might be interested in are:
- Grammarly Review on Yahoo Voices – Loves the tool, but the Word plug-in didn’t work for him (although it does work fine for us)
- Grammarly Review on YouTube – A professional writer steps through the tool, critiquing one of her pieces using the Grammarly tool
- Chris Martin on Grammarly – A thorough review and active/informative discussion of Grammarly in the comments
- Grammarly on the Huffington Post – Top 6 Common College Grammar Mistakes from Grammarly
- Grammarly on Forbes – Interesting article, “I Don’t Tolerate Poor Grammar”
Conclusion
If you’re thinking about Grammarly, I’d save give it a try using their 7 day free trial. At best, you find a great tool that helps you produce higher-quality work. At worst, you’ve spent a few days trying a tool (for free) that just didn’t work for you. Either way, the downside isn’t all that bad.
If you’ve tried it, please let us know what you thought of it in the comments!
Bonus: Follow Grammarly on LinkedIn or Google+ and you can get small little reminders on common grammar mistakes and how to avoid them. For some fun stuff, follow Grammarly on Pinterest. And, finally, you can checkout some interesting comments and analysis from Grammarly on Economist.com.
Update #2 10/23/2012: Grammarly just launched a Chrome Extension – get it here: Grammarly Chrome Extension. We are huge Chrome addicts, so building the Grammarly tool into into Chrome is pure bliss.
——
Below is some fun we had with the tool a while back. It isn’t really relevant, but we’ve kept it below for posterity.
In this post we thought we’d have a little fun with the tool and use it to analyze those notorious Nigerian scam emails, also called 419 emails. These emails include crazy money requests from supposed deposed kings, lawyers organizing class action lawsuits, foreign defense ministers in need of assistance, and the like. So, without further adieu, this is our ‘Grammarly Scam‘ test.
Example #1 – Mr. Mike Ole, Manager of a Bank in South Africa
Below is the first email I ran through Grammarly, and I was amazed that it scored a 0 out of 100! My guess is that the score factors in the ‘plagiarism check’, and since this email has been published online, it trips that. Nonetheless, this email is pretty bad when it comes to grammar, so I really hope nobody fell for this scam. The error/notification breakdown is:
- Use of Articles: 1 Error
- Sentence Structure: 1 Error
- Passive Voice Use: 2 Times
- Writing Style: 3 Issues
- Synonyms: 13 Notifications
My favorite line in this email, which Grammarly caught as a fragment, is “Awaiting your urgent reply via my email.” What does that even mean? Ha!
Yes, this is a silly experiment, but we had fun using Grammarly for it
Example #2 – Mrs. Susuan Patrick
This is another fun one because of the humorous quotes it contains. My favorites include, “My husband died as a result of brief illness called heart attack” and “I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money.”
The scorecard is:
- Use of articles: 1 Problem
- Verb Agreement: 1 Error
- Wordiness: 1 Identified
- Passive Voice Use: 3 Issues
- Spelling: 3 Errors
- Writing Style: 5 Issues
- Vocabulary Use: 2 Problems
- Synonyms: 24 Suggestions
So this one is worse that the other scam email. The Grammarly Scam detector rating would probably be higher for this one that the others.
Another Grammarly screenshot – this gives you a good idea of what the interface looks like and how you can use Grammarly
Example #3 – Tasha Nicole, Regional Purchasing Manager of Smith Chemical LTD
Staring off a letter with ‘hi dear’ probably won’t get you very far when you are trying to scam somebody… and this letter does just that. The grammar and spelling in this one is pretty bad, and our favorite quote from this one is, “The profits we will share it, you take 60% and give me 40%” – that sounds like a lyric from a rock song to me.
The errors found are as follows:
- Use of articles: 3 Issues
- Pronoun Agreement: 1 Error
- Punctuation within a sentence: 5 Issues
- Wordiness: 1 Issue Identified
- Capitalization: 1 Issue Identified
- Writing Style: 10 Issues
- Synonyms: 24 Recommendations
A final Grammarly review
Final Thoughts on Grammarly
If you found this site while doing research for ‘Grammarly’, ‘Grammarly Reviews’, ‘Grammarly Scam‘, or anything else – you probably want to know if Grammarly is good or not. What I wrote about above was some of the fun we’ve had while playing with content that is obviously riddled with errors. Running it through Grammarly brings up all sorts of notifications and errors, and it actually does demonstrate how powerful Grammarly is at analyzing text.
However, internally, we use Grammarly on a daily basis to ensure that what we publish for our websites and our client websites meet a very high standard. Anything published with your name or brand name tied to it is a direct reflection of your name/business, and if its full of errors, you put off unsavory signals that may lead people to draw wrong/bad conclusions about your business. Grammarly is one of those cheap, simple, effective tools to eliminate this from ever being an issue. Anytime you write something that is of importance, whether an email or article, running it through Grammarly gives you peace of mind that it isn’t fully of errors. For us, it’s a no-brainer to use.
Mike
June 01st, 2011 at 10:16 am
I saw the Grammarly scam detector video on Youtube, I thought that was pretty funny and interesting. Maybe more than I’d do for my parents, but I always like seeing funny hacks like this.
Jenny
July 06th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
I was wondering about Grammarly. I really need a tool like this, and looking at the fun you’ve had with your little Grammarly scam project makes me think that this tool is legit in improving spelling and grammar.
Casey
July 06th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
That’s amazing! I really like seeing stuff done with web 2.0 tools beyond what the original creators envisioned. Grammarly must be impressed with what you accomplished and should start using it as a sales point. The “Grammarly Scam” feature could be a great product for bloggers.
Rick
November 02nd, 2012 at 11:37 am
Nice overview, I’m digging the chrome extension so far!
Bill G.
November 11th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Thanks for providing this information. It’s really helpful as I prepare my college exam papers.
I’ll be sure to check out Grammarly and what it has to offer!
Marko Gujanicic
November 13th, 2012 at 12:01 am
I do enjoy using Grammarly for my course work, it has improved the overall quality of my writing. Now I feel like professors are able to understand better what I am saying than just giving up because my English isn’t great. As a non-native English speaker, having a tool like Grammarly gives me an edge over other writers who don’t speak English well and aren’t using the tool. It make me look smarter
Nicole
November 28th, 2012 at 11:53 am
Grammarly is a pretty cool tool – especially for students. I think the pricing structure is a little weird, but I’m guessing they have some reasoning behind the subscription vs. a fixed cost, one-time fee.
I’m a grammar nut and love the idea of having a final sweep of my work before submitting papers. It’s embarrassing when you turn in (what you think is) high quality work, only to discover typos after it has already been graded and returned. I always feel disappointed when I turn in less-than-stellar work.
This is an awesome overview of the program. Could be something to share among friends and everyone just split the cost?
Jo
November 30th, 2012 at 8:14 am
I am a content writer by profession and owner ofbestcontentwritingservice.com. I use proof reading tools everyday to enhance quality and add another level of QC to my work. Grammarly simply ROCKS!
Sammy
November 30th, 2012 at 8:15 am
Wow this tool is simply awesome. I was using whitesmoke till now but a short test drive of Grammarly showed me that its by far the best grammar check tool.
I dont have to use any other checks on my write ups here on.
Amaanda
December 01st, 2012 at 6:47 am
I used whitesmoke too earlier but I find this much more user friendly and easy.
Jyotsna Ramani
November 30th, 2012 at 8:17 am
Finally an excellent proof reading tool. I work as a small time editor for an Indian magazine and it takes me hours to check all submissions that come in everyday.
Grammarly has made my work so much more easier. Thank you , Grammarly!
Susie Q
November 30th, 2012 at 8:18 am
Grammarly is a ground breaking new tool in content management systems of the new era. I find it extremely useful. I am a review writer for Amazon products and having proof read reviews never hurts. Now, does it?
Mark JJ
November 30th, 2012 at 8:20 am
I tried this tool for 2 weeks before writing my comment here. I have tested every bit of it. I like it and prefer it over other tools coz its fast and light on my PC. Also, it tracks all errors and there is no scope for mistakes (unless you manually ignore the changes).
Rosss Writer
December 01st, 2012 at 7:36 am
Grammarly is an excellent tool for freelance writers, journalists, editors, business developers and almost anyone really. I believe everyone can use it for proof reading.
Jane
December 01st, 2012 at 7:38 am
I was hooked to Grammarly from the first time I used it to check my dissertation. I had to proof read my 150 page paper which was due in 2 days and I had no clue where to start.. then I stumbled upon Grammarly – thank god for that !
It was surely my lucky day coz I my paper was proof read in just a day and I spent the next day manually checking it – didnt find many errors after the 1st level of checks by Grammarly. It saved me almost 20 hours !!!
Rockman Inc.
December 01st, 2012 at 7:40 am
I run a successful business and as a webmaster and founder , I have to do a fair amount of write ups for my site, blog, press releases etc.. Grammarly has been a great help in reducing proof reading TAT and enhancing my efficiency.
Jason Biigg
December 01st, 2012 at 7:41 am
Woo hoo.. Grammarly is SUPERB. 10 on 10 to the creator for releasing this fabulous tool.
Dan Hinckley
January 29th, 2013 at 10:18 pm
I’ll be honest… I’ve used Grammarly on a lot of the posts I’ve written on Maciverse.com.
It’s really helped me with finding the typos I make in my articles before I hit the “publish” button.