How to write better? This question occurs to all of us at some point or the other. If you’re a blogger, you probably know that effective (and that doesn’t mean wordy) writing is the key to having an engaged audience that actually reads your posts. Good writing could also result in greater shares and lower bounce rates.
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How to write better in 5 minutes
Is it really possible to write better in just five minutes? After trying Grammarly free & premium for a week, we honestly believe that the answer is yes. In fact, it will probably take you only two minutes to install Grammarly and start using it. The interface is so self-explanatory that the little tutorial at the beginning is all you need to start reaping the benefits of this editing app.
As we write this post, there’s a little Grammarly icon on the bottom right checking everything as we type. It’s a new feeling, knowing that there’s a guardian grammar angel preventing us from making embarrassing mistakes in our writing! I’ll be frank though – as a journalism graduate and a professional writer and editor, I was skeptical about Grammarly‘s use for me. But the free version charmed me completely with its intelligent suggestions and usability. And things only got better once I upgraded to the premium plan.
What is Grammarly?
Grammarly is a language assistance tool that is the next best thing to a living, breathing editor. We’re guessing that you don’t have the inclination or the resources to hire a professional editor to go through all your work. It’s not practical to have someone look over your emails or social media posts either.
So, you DO need an app like Grammarly to go beyond the basic spelling and grammar check that MS Word offers.
Grammarly offers suggestions to improve the clarity and readability of your text. It helps reduce wordiness (unnecessarily long or complicated words and sentences), which is something even the best writers are guilty of. Best of all, Grammarly offers personalized feedback based on your specific goals and target audience. So you no longer have to worry about how to write better.
How do I use Grammarly to Write Better?
Grammarly is super easy to use. And there are multiple ways to do so:
Download the browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari (free)
Install the extension with one click and the Grammarly icon will now turn up wherever you type – in your email composer, Facebook page, WordPress admin, etc. You can also open up the app by clicking on the icon next to the address bar in your browser. Here, you can upload your own documents or copy-paste content to check it.
Download Grammarly for Windows (free)
Having the Grammarly app on your desktop is useful when you want to use the app offline. The interface and features are the same as the app landing page.
Download Grammarly for MS Word (free)
This is handy when you do the bulk of your writing on the Word processor or Microsoft Outlook. The add-on integrates into both applications and the functionality is the same as the default app.
Making the corrections suggested by Grammarly is super simple – you’ll get a red underline at spots that need amending. Simply move your cursor there and the suggestion will show up. Click on it to accept, and the change is made for you. Watch this short tutorial for more:
Case Studies: How Grammarly Helped Me Write Better
The video above offers a good overview of how Grammarly helped me write better emails, social media posts, MS Word documents, and blog articles. Every person’s experience of Grammarly is different because when you install the app, you have to select your language proficiency and the reason why you mainly write (work, school, etc.).
On installing the app, I was presented with a demo document. I immediately replaced this with some content of my own: an article on Thailand I was working on for a client. Here is the feedback I got in the free version:
The corrections covered grammar, punctuation, wordiness, and spelling errors. Later, I upgraded to the premium version and Grammarly showed more suggestions around readability (such as active/passive voice) and vocabulary (replacing words like ‘good’ and ‘clever’):
I also decided to test one of our oldest blog posts on Kerala on Grammarly. The app instantly spotted the undue length of my introductory sentence and suggested that I rewrite it. I also got punctuation alerts and requests to remove one of my favourite (and useless) words: really.
The thing is, you might not even know you’re making mistakes until you download an app like Grammarly. And to our knowledge, there is no other competitor worth considering. Here’s an example of a sneaky error:
In conclusion, while a few of the corrections suggested by Grammarly were unnecessary, the majority were eye-openers.
Analysis with Grammarly is the Key to Writing Better
Grammarly is also THE best tool to analyze any piece of content (not just your own). When you click on the overall score, you get a report on the overall readability and in the premium version, the vocabulary richness of your document. Particularly useful are the reading and speaking time metrics and the comparison against all the texts of a similar nature that Grammarly has scanned. Take a look:
From this analysis, it is clear that my article would be legible to teenagers as well as adults. Imagine how useful this analysis could be if you were writing a children’s book or tutorial. I was a little taken aback to see that my scores for unique and rare words were below average – a reminder to start using richer synonyms in my content. You can also download the reports for future reference.
Grammarly also mails you a weekly report card highlighting your particular areas of weakness and improvement. Honestly, it’s like your best English teacher has come back to life! A popular answer to ‘how to write better’ is to write more and more. But if no one told you where you were going wrong, the exercise would be futile. Grammarly puts you on the right track so your efforts don’t go in vain.
Grammarly Free v/s Grammarly Premium
First things first, the free version of Grammarly is very, very good. And for a large percentage of users, it should suffice. The free version points out all the basic grammar and punctuation errors and that’s more than enough for everyday use.
But if you write in a professional capacity, that is, you write to attract clients, readers, or any kind of audience, you might want to look at the premium features. University scholars will also find the premium version useful for proofreading theses. And of course, writers and novelists will benefit from Grammarly premium, especially before submitting a manuscript to a publisher for consideration.
It is 100% free to try Grammarly, and you can keep using the free version for life. But there are some things that the free version can’t do. Here are some of the main missing functions that might be critical for you:
1. Plagiarism check
If you’re sourcing articles from external sources or other writers, Grammarly will check the content (including photos!) for plagiarism against an exhaustive library of web pages.
2. Customized feedback
In the premium version of Grammarly, you can specify the language proficiency of your readers, the tone you want to adopt, the type of content you’re crafting, the results you want to achieve, and more. Grammarly will tailor your suggestions accordingly.
3. Access to professional proofreaders
You have the option of sending your document to a professional proofreader, which might be great if you’re writing a make-or-break thesis or manuscript.
4. Vocabulary enhancement
Using a variety of words in your text can impress readers and help you sound like an expert. The premium version offers intelligent rephrasing suggestions to take your content a notch higher.
5. Advanced grammar
The free version of Grammarly covers all the basics of grammar and spelling but the premium version increases your chances of getting straight As with advanced grammar suggestions like eliminating parallelisms and improving readability.
If you feel that you simply cannot do without one or more of the abovementioned features, you should sign up for Grammarly premium. We’ll look at the cost factor below. But don’t worry, the answer to ‘how to write better?’ doesn’t have to break your bank.
Special Discount: $220 off on Grammarly Premium
Contrary to its name, Grammarly is not just about grammar. This super-intuitive app helps you actually hone your craft and become a better writer. It’s like having an expert editor coach you every step of the way until the best practices become ingrained in your writing style and approach.
Now normally, the premium plan would cost you $29.95 per month. And that’s rather steep – no doubt about it. But if you took the leap for an entire year, the monthly price drops to just $11.66. That’s definitely worth all the error-free copy you’ll generate with Grammarly.
Avail of this generous discount and sign up for Grammarly with our affiliate link: Grammarly premium discount. If you make a purchase, we’ll get a tiny commission that helps to keep this website running. But we suggest you sign up for the free plan first and see how Grammarly works for you. You can always upgrade once you’re ready.
Frequently Asked Questions About Grammarly
Both. Grammarly offers suggestions that everyone will benefit from, as long as they are communicating in English. The app works according to the language proficiency level of the user. So the suggestions you get are also tailored accordingly.
For everyday work, yes. But for longer works like books and novels, you could still benefit from the services of a living, breathing editor. But Grammarly does a great job of polishing up your initial draft. And in most cases, the premium version ensures that your work is near perfect.
If you pay attention to Grammarly’s suggestions and spend time learning them, you can avoid repeating the same errors in the future. This means that eventually, you will write better copy on your own. Grammarly’s instructive comments definitely help users to produce more effectively written copy.
My Final Verdict on How to Write Better with Grammarly
There is no doubt about it – Grammarly is undeniably better than the native spelling and grammar checker of Microsoft Word. Grammarly is also a fast-loading app that integrates excellently into Chrome and other browsers. The icon does not slow down your email composing or social media posting. Best of all, it will display definitions and synonyms for any word on your browser when you double click on it.
When I initially installed the Microsoft Word add-on, I experienced some speed issues. However, after updating to the latest version of Windows 10, I can say that Grammarly works like a charm inside of MS Word as well. Grammarly alerted me to 15 different errors while writing this post. And I’m sure, if the app existed when I was in college, I would have bettered my grades with its coaching capabilities.
You can perform your own content check by uploading the same Word document on Grammarly and comparing its suggestions with those offered by the native Word spell checker. And if you purchase Grammarly premium, you can also see how the scope of writing suggestions widen there with its advanced grammar and punctuation checks.
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I am going to use Grammarly from now on. Thanks for the amazing post. It was very helpful