I used to be a good writer. Today, I am a great writer, with a lot of thanks to Grammarly writing assistant. In this review, I will share some of the reasons why I chose Grammarly and how this innovative tool may be able to help you with your blogging and writing.
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So, What Exactly IS A Writing Assistant?
Have you ever written a report, email or letter and AFTER hitting the ‘Send’ button and realised that it contained spelling and grammar mistakes? Simple things like not including an ‘s’ or using the past tense when it should be the present?
I guarantee that you have.
Once you are working on your computer, you will make mistakes in your writing. That is where a good writing assistant comes in.
In the old days, you would write your letter or report and send it to your assistant or someone else to proofread and edit for you. They would send it back to you and you may make some more changes before you are finally satisfied.
Gone are those days.
A writing assistant is a digital tool that highlights your errors in spelling and grammar BEFORE you hit the ‘Send button’. Think of it as your human assistant at your fingertips – with you all the time.
Apart from your spelling and grammar, a good writing assistant will help you with your tone and intent.
There are many digital writing assistants available but, by far, the most versatile and affordable one is Grammarly. As a Blogger and paid writer, I use the Premium Version but you can get started for free and determine if you want to upgrade after you experience how versatile it is.
Here are 5 key features to get you on your way.
1. It’s FREE To Get Started
Who doesn’t like free?!
During my first year as a Content & Affiliate Marketer, free was my best friend before I started to earn income,
I started using Grammarly because an ad popped up while I was doing some research on the internet and it seemed harmless.
During that 1st year, I became addicted to the basic features and realised that, even with the basics, I could go much further with my writing. I came to appreciate the little guide on the lower right side of my content that gave me the confidence I needed to keep writing.
2. The Spell Checker
I write quickly and, my brain works faster than my fingers. That means there are often times when I will miss letters or misspell words. Thanks to Grammarly’s writing assistant all those mistakes get sorted out on the fly.
When the correct words are highlighted, there are also suggestions for synonyms and this gets my brain working even more. More often than not, I lean towards the synonyms being suggested as they add a welcomed lift to my content.
I write content across continents – US and UK – so the English version is different. Grammarly helps me with this spelling as well.
Should I change familiariSe to familiariZe? Well, that depends on which market I am writing for.
3. Grammar is Easy to Align
It’s named Grammarly, after all, so helping you to get your grammar right is an absolute plus. Simple errors like past or present tense can confuse your reader and cause them to lose their interest.
Poor grammar distracts your readers from the essence of your content and the critical point that you may be trying to get across. Instead of appreciating your message, your visitor will recognise your mistakes, become disinterested and leave your website.
Once lost, visitors are hard to get back.
4. Tone Improves Your Readability
Readability affects intent. When you are engrossed in your own writing and words, it becomes difficult to know if your message is getting across and your reader is grasping what you intended to say.
A feature that I like a lot in Grammarly is the tone.
Tone helps you to convey your authentic attitude about your topic to your reader. You can use word choice, punctuation or sentence structure to deliver the tone of your message.
When you are in a physical engagement with someone, you may use your facial expressions, local pitch and body language to convey your tone.
Using the appropriate tone when you are writing, helps your readers to understand the emotions and feelings about your topic. You can choose to be light and attractive, funny, sarcastic, assertive and confident or aggressive. Or, you can take your reader through varied emotions to get an even stronger message across.
5. Formatting Suggestions
I use Grammarly’s formatting suggestions a lot, especially when I am writing emails or summarising a report to be more succinct and precise.
Emails can be tricky.
Let’s say you’ve just finished an important meeting and you want to send a summary to the participants. You start writing your email and soon realise that it has turned into a long and winding paragraph, very difficult to read.
A proven trick that I have learned with Grammarly is to put my points down as sentences and add formatted bullet lists. I can then easily read them through, organise in order of importance or occurrence and tighten my tone.
That way I know that my reader can easily recognise and digest each item while at their desk or on the go using a mobile phone or another device.
This translates to easy retention and recall when needed. Your recipients will thank you for it.
As I shared with you before, nothing beats FREE!
That is the opportunity you have now with Grammarly. It is a valued assistant and support that should be in everyone’s toolbox.
You can get started, using Grammarly for FREE by clicking below. No credit card required.
If you are serious about taking your writing to a higher level then Grammarly Premium may be the right tool for you. Click below to sign up:
If you already use Grammarly, leave a comment below and let us know what your favourite features are.
Any questions?
Pop them below and we will be happy to help you along.
Happy writing!
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