Whether you’re working on a formal report or a casual business email, whatever you write is going to be read by someone else—which means it should be grammatically correct. There’s no shame in struggling with grammar when writing; everyone has their skills, and those might not be yours. But we’re lucky enough to live in an age in which our own failings can be accounted for with technology—like these five grammar-checking Chrome extensions that can help keep your writing clear, concise, and easily comprehensible.
The old reliable: Grammarly
Grammarly is probably the extension you first think of for correcting your writing, and with good reason: It’s been around a while, has a bunch of features, and is available in a free version. Not only does it check spelling and grammar in real time, but it aims to improve your writing all around by addressing your tone and word choice, helping you to create the right vibe and give the impression that youhave a way with words. For $12/month, you can add a vocabulary booster and a plagiarism checker, but even the free features are worth the download.
The best grammar checker if you want to improve your writing skills: Scribens
A lot of extensions will just fix the “errors” in your writing (a term that should be used lightly, since using a simpler word in place of a more “impressive” one isn’t really an error), which is great in real time, but what about if you want to improve for the future? A key feature of Scribens is that it provides explanations for the issues it detects with your grammar, spelling, style, and punctuation, so you can see why it’s advising making the changes and can reshape your writing going forward. It’s free, but $10.90/month will get you unlimited corrections and a faster processing speed.
The best grammar checker if you work with different languages: Ginger
What makes Ginger special is its translation feature, which makes it especially helpful if you work in an environment where multiple languages are commonly used. There’s even a text-to-speech feature to help you with pronunciation. Ginger checks grammar and spelling in real time, but also offers wording suggestions based on context clues in your work. There’s a free version, but if you want reports analyzing your errors or unlimited corrections, you’ll pay $13.99/month.
The best grammar checker if you use a lot of unique words: LanguageTool
Your job or academic major might be one that features a lot of unique jargon that would trip up your average grammar checker (not to mention actual people who aren’t experts in your field). If that’s the case, try LanguageTool, which features a customizable dictionary you can add to so your go-to industry terms don’t keep getting flagged. It supports over 20 languages and covers all the traditional checks on your punctuation, grammar, and style. The basic features are included in the free version, while a more thorough premium version (which promises to catch more errors) starts at $19.90 per month.
The best grammar checker for homework: WhiteSmoke
WhiteSmoke’s focus is more on writing than correspondence, so it’s a solid tool if you do a lot of homework like essays or other long form writing. For $5 per month, you get a grammar checker, plagiarism checker, and translator; $6.66 per month adds integration with Windows and browsers, in addition to one-click proofreading and a computer license. For $11.50 a month, you get all that, plus two more computer licenses and customer support by phone.
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