7 Reasons Why You Need Grammarly (Review 2019)

You might be wondering why you’re on Learn Robotics reading a Grammarly Review for 2019. And while the purpose of Learn Robotics is to provide awesome robotics content, I also want to introduce you to some of my favorite automated tools. Automation can be used in a myriad of ways, and if you can find a tool that will increase your productivity while maximizing your investment, then it’s definitely worth talking about.

Grammarly is one of those tools that I take advantage of all day, every day. It’s an automated proofreading app that helps with spelling, grammar, and writing competencies. It’s backed by computational linguists and deep learning algorithms that work alongside your browser or within the Grammarly editor. While it isn’t your traditional “robot” per se, it’s just another example of how wide the field of robotics is and what you can do with robotics skills.

So sit back, relax, and let’s enjoy this review of Grammarly: why you need it in 2019.

As a preface, I wanted to mention that I hate using autocorrect. It reminds me too much of writing school reports on a computer without the Internet and being pestered by an animated paperclip.

Rest assured, Grammarly is a MAJOR upgrade from Clippy or other autocorrect tools we’ve seen in the past. The user experience is complimentary, not cumbersome.

In this Grammarly review article, I’m going to explore the 7 reasons why you need Grammarly, even if you’re as skeptical as I was about using it in the first place.

1. Grammarly is easy to use, and it just works.

To begin with, anyone can use Grammarly. It’s super easy. First, install the browser extension. Then, sign up for a free account. Log in, and you’re ready to work. Grammarly will keep track of your writing progress. You’ll even receive a weekly email from Grammarly with your writing stats.

If you’re a numbers nerd, like me, this is pretty interesting data to look at. Just to give you an idea, last week I wrote over 40,000 words for Learn Robotics.
Not only is it an easy tool, but Grammarly is also accurate. A lot of proofreading and autocorrect software mark things that aren’t actually incorrect. You also have to figure out what the errors are and whether or not it needs to be fixed. There are often a lot of non-issues marked as issues because spell-checkers are notoriously inaccurate.

But with Grammarly, the items marked incorrect are actually errors because the software is based on deep learning algorithms created by computational linguists. Pretty legit, right?

2. Grammarly speeds up the writing process.

Another benefit is that Grammarly makes it faster for me to produce content.

One of the tricks I do is speak my article (using Speechtexter) and then use Grammarly to go through and proofread and make corrections. This makes creating a lot of content in a small amount of time with just a single person a lot easier.

Whether you are running a blog yourself or you have a lot of writing to do for work or school, you can use this technique in combination with Grammarly to create rough drafts really quickly.

Now, this method isn’t going to work for every type of document, so if you’re doing something that’s more academic or a whitepaper, you’re going to have to type it out. The Grammarly icon is placed out of the way in the bottom right corner of the textbox. You can choose to interact with it when you’re ready to proofread. It’s very minimal which means fewer distractions and more productivity.

However, if you write a lot of emails or you create numerous social media or blog posts then this is a quick way to get your ideas out there and have it proofread without having to sit there and try to review it by yourself.

3. Grammarly integrates with MS Word.

Thirdly, you’ll want to get Grammarly if you’re an avid MS Word user. Sadly, there isn’t a native MS Word for Mac Grammarly plugin, but you can download and install the Grammarly editor if you would rather have something on your desktop.

However, if you’re a Windows user, you can get the Grammarly plugin directly in MS Word. It’s a pretty convenient option if you need to review school papers or professional documents.

Even though I’m a Mac user, I’m not deterred by the lack of integration into MS Word for Mac. The majority of my writing is in the browser, which Grammarly supports through the free Chrome Browser Extension.

4. Grammarly teaches you to be a better writer.

If you’re from the school of thought that you’re too smart or don’t need a proofreading app because you’re already a good writer, then you’re really missing out. And, well this is coming from someone who excelled at all things academia. The fourth reason to use Grammarly is that it’ll teach you how to be a better writer by pointing out mistakes.

I avoided Grammarly because I thought it was a tool for people who couldn’t write proper English ?‍♀️. (P.S. That’s not true…)

The fact is, having Grammarly doesn’t mean you’re incompetent at writing. That’s actually farther from the truth. Grammarly acts as a second set of eyes to review what you write in real-time. Just because you think you’re a good writer, doesn’t mean you’re exempt from typos. Having a tool like this makes it easier to spot your writing issues and correct them faster.

You can review your work during the writing process, or use it as an editing tool before publication. Grammarly will point out the errors and provide feedback about why it was incorrect. That way you can fix common mistakes and improve your writing skills over time.

5. Grammarly compliments your writing style & voice.

Furthermore, Grammarly compliments your writing style and voice. You can set goals and choose your writing Intent, Audience, Style, Emotion, and Domain.

Grammarly will analyze your writing against these criteria and provide you an overall score. This feature is great because you can adapt the tool to match the type of piece you’re writing (academic, blog post, technical paper, etc.).

Plus, all these features are free…say what?!

6. The Grammarly free version is awesome.

In addition, the Grammarly free version is packed with features. A lot of free plans are very limited or expire after a certain amount of time. This isn’t true with Grammarly. The free version has about 70% to 80% of what the average writer will need.

However, if you’re doing something that’s more professional, you may want to invest in some of the more advanced grammar checking features that are included with premium.

Try out the free version of Grammarly and see what you think. There’s really no barrier to entry. If the free version is sufficient, great. If you find that you need additional features, you can always upgrade.

7. Grammarly premium has more advanced features.

Finally, you’ll get a host of additional features when you sign up for Grammarly Premium. This includes features such as readability, vocabulary enhancement, genre-specific writing styles, and a plagiarism detector.

If you’re a student, Grammarly isn’t considered cheating by most institutions, and it can help you avoid plagiarism by cross-checking your work with over 16 billion web pages.

There are three premium tiers based on payment options:

• Monthly: $29.95 per month
• Quarterly: $19.98 per month, billed as four payments of $59.95
• Annually: $11.66 per month, billed as one payment of $139.95 (the best deal)

For someone who’s writing a lot or in academia, Grammarly Premium is an affordable option.

With all that said, should you get Grammarly?

Final Thoughts: Should you get Grammarly?

I came from the perspective that having Grammarly meant that you are terrible at writing. If you asked me a year ago if I needed Grammarly, I would have said no, I’m already good at writing.

But fast-forward a year later and over 1.3 Million words checked by Grammarly, I’m a huge proponent of it. Grammarly cuts down on the amount of time I spend on editing.

Now I have more time to spend on building robots, creating better courses, and interacting with you (come say hi on Instagram). If you’re not using Grammarly yet, you’re missing out. This tool is legit. Grammarly can help improve your workflow and enhance your productivity.

Are you already a Grammarly user? Let me know what you think of it in the comments below!