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English Language Tools

What is Grammarly

Grammarly is an easy-to-use tool that helps you identify ways to improve your writing skills using in-text editing. Grammarly checks your work and provides suggestions on proper word choice, grammar, punctuation, and writing style. This service allows you to proactively correct your research essays before they are submitted. 

Sign up for Free

How to Use

You can use Grammarly by logging in to their website and uploading your documents to be checked, or download their apps that can allow you to use Grammarly within Word, Outlook or other programs. 

  • Upload a document into Grammarly, or copy and paste your text.
  • Using the editing tools, you can pick any or all contextual spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, and style. You can also indicate what type of document you are working with; academic essay is the most common choice.
  • Grammarly will identify possible mistakes, explain its corrections and make suggestions. This allows you to not only learn about grammar and writing styles but also to determine if you’d like to accept Grammarly’s corrections. 
  • Examine the suggestions, then accept or delete corrections. You can also undo deleted corrections if you change your mind. Edits in Grammarly are automatically saved, so you don’t have to worry about losing any changes.
  • When you’re satisfied with your essay, you can simply copy the text and paste it into a Word document or download your document (for example, if you uploaded a .docx, the download will also be a .docx).
  • Use Grammarly's plagiarism and AI checker to compare your work to online content. 

 

Grammarly apps and added resources

Tips 

  • Double-check their suggestions: some might not be correct depending on the context of the text.
  • Think about your audience and your purpose: Grammarly does not like the passive voice, but it can be effective.
  • Grammarly has a custom dictionary: use it for words you use frequently that Grammarly thinks are misspelled.
  • Make sure the spelling is set to Canadian English: British & American English will not always have the correct spelling. 
  • Grammarly helps multilingual English speakers write more fluently: learn how to change your language settings and turn on the fluency assistance option. 

Important Note: If you're using the plagiarism checker, be aware that it might not catch all instances of plagiarism, so it's a good idea to use multiple plagiarism checkers. Here are a couple free versions. They may require registration or have limitations on how much you can upload. They are best suited for occasional use.

QueText: Most plagiarism checkers simply look for what is available on websites. This also searches some academic articles as well.  
Scribbr: Scribbr is a less advanced version of Turnitin. Its free options are limited, and it requires you to log in, but it catches more plagiarism than most free plagiarism tools. It gives you an overall score and where plagiarism may have come from. Unfortunately, unlike checkers, it does not highlight the plagiarized portions in the free version. 

Switch from a basic free account to Grammarly@EDU

When you log into Grammarly@EDU, there will be a Premium flag by the logo. If you signed up at Grammarly.com for free, you will not see that blue flag. You will not have access to the premium features, such as plagiarism checks and changing document types. If you try to access these features, you will be prompted to enter an Access Code or to sign up for a subscription.

To fix this, you need to delete the existing account and create a new one.