Let’s face it: we don’t all have a team of proofreaders and editors at our disposal 24/7 to check our work. That makes online writing tools like Grammarly incredibly useful for many freelance writers. However, it’s important to remember that these tools have limits. If you rely on them exclusively, you could end up with boring writing at best, or an all-out scandal at worst. That’s why it’s essential to know when to rely on tools like Grammarly and when to trust your instinct as a writer. Here’s how to know when to trust the tech.
Grammarly vs. Your Instinct on Grammar
If you love the creative aspect of writing but aren’t confident with the technical side, Grammarly may become your new best friend. On the whole, it’s great for finding grammatical mistakes and suggesting alternative phrasing. However, it’s important to remember that Grammarly doesn’t send your work into a box full of professional editors who spit out a bunch of corrections. Like any other tech tool, it uses algorithms and AI to check your writing, and those things sometimes fail.
For instance, Grammarly often does a poor job identifying the misuse of homophones, as in this example where Grammarly failed to flag the incorrect word.
Rain in your temper, or you will be asked to leave this meeting.
Meanwhile, Grammarly ironically suggests changing “except” to “accept” in this sentence, which would make it both confusing and grammatically incorrect.
If you struggle to remember when to use accept or accept, Grammarly may be helpful.
Similarly, although Grammarly often identifies problems with punctuation, it’s not 100% reliable. This sentence clearly needs to be corrected, but Grammarly failed to spot the error.
Ballerinas must train for long hours every day it’s not for the faint of heart.
Grammarly Is Pretty Good (But Not Perfect) at Catching Typos
It’s all too easy to hit the wrong key when you’re typing, especially when you’re rushing to meet a deadline. Grammarly quickly identifies most typos, so writers often use it to proofread their drafts. However, it doesn’t always catch every mistake, especially if the error results in a recognizable word.
In this example, Grammarly flagged the typo in the first sentence but not the second.
Try not to kiil the mood.
Try not to jill the mood.
Accidentally omitting a letter may also go unnoticed by Grammarly. Unfortunately, that could result in an error like this, which your client definitely doesn’t want to be published.
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Pro Tip: Read Your Work Out Loud
After running your piece through Grammarly, read your work out loud. It’s an easy way to catch typos like these if Grammarly misses them.
Grammarly Helps You Write Concisely
Unless you’re writing a novel full of long, descriptive sentences, you need to keep your writing concise. Today’s readers want short, clear sentences that fit well on their phone screens. Fortunately, Grammarly excels at flagging unnecessary words and suggesting ways to make your writing more on-point and concise.
Here’s an example:
Most nurseries simply do not have enough selection to be worth visiting. In fact, that’s why we actually suggest growing plants from seed instead.
Grammarly’s suggestion for the second sentence sounds better and is more concise.
That’s why we suggest growing plants from seed instead.
Your Instinct May Be Best for Creativity and Dialogue
On the other hand, if you’re writing dialogue, being intentionally creative with your word choice, or using a conversational tone, you may want to rely on your instinct over Grammarly. That’s because the changes Grammarly suggests may cause your work to sound too formal.
Additionally, because Grammarly is based on algorithms and AI, it sometimes makes sense to ignore its suggestions in order to preserve your unique writing voice. Think of how AI-generated art works by combining millions of photos of people into average faces. A similar effect happens with writing, but it’s your unique characteristics and quirks that make you stand out as a writer.
Understand AI Policies Before Trusting the Tech
Speaking of AI, it’s important to know relevant AI policies before trusting tech tools, like Grammarly, to help you with your writing. Even though these types of tools are commonly used, they sometimes get writers into hot water with their schools, employers, and clients. That’s because AI detectors sometimes flag work that has been checked by Grammarly as being written by AI.
Unfortunately, once you have been accused of submitting a piece that was generated by AI rather than writing it yourself, it’s often an uphill battle to prove your innocence. Students have been placed on probation, and writers have been fired after wrongly being accused of using AI to write their work. That’s why it’s best to clarify whether using Grammarly to improve your work violates AI policies. Additionally, while many schools and employers support using Grammarly, it’s always wise to document your changes so you have proof that your writing is original.
Grammarly vs. Your Instinct: What to Take Away
Grammarly is an excellent tool to help you refine your writing and correct your mistakes, but it shouldn’t be your only tool. Instead, get in the habit of proofreading your work and reading it out loud to help find errors. If you have colleagues who are willing to proofread your work, that’s helpful, too. A fresh set of eyes and a different perspective often work wonders to find areas you need to improve.
If you need help determining when tools like Grammarly are helping your writing vs when you should trust your instinct, one of the best things you can do is get feedback from a professional writer. Book a trial post review with Dez to get valuable feedback on your writing and advice about what to change moving forward.
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