Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Having proper grammar can save you whether you’re a freelance writer or just posting things on Twitter and Facebook. And if it can be done for free, then why not? Today, I’m looking at the Grammarly Chrome extension you can install right now.
For starters, it’s far more than just a spellchecker. Google Chrome already helps by pointing out incorrectly spelled words.
Grammarly can help you make sense of the content you’re creating.
What is the Grammarly Chrome Extension?
Grammarly has a Chrome extension you can install for free. The caveat is that you need to create an account with the grammar checker. This is also free, of course.
Once the Chrome extension is installed, Grammarly will constantly analyze most text fields on the Internet to make sure you’re writing legible material.
The tool will provide suggestions, synonyms, automatically fix obvious spelling errors, and a great deal more. And it works great when you’re commenting on social media from your desktop computer.
How Well Does the Grammarly Chrome Extension Work?
I’ve been using the Grammarly Chrome extension for quite a while, now. And since installing the tool, I’ve written more than a million words spread across blogs, books, and client articles. And that’s not including the number of words I edit daily from other writers.
Since installing the app, it’s made a vast improvement for both myself and my writing team. In fact, I spend far less time editing one particular writer’s work as he also uses it on his computer.
I’ve actually only used the Grammarly website a handful of times. Most of what I do is centered around WordPress or online writing apps. And the extension works great in most of those environments.
What Can You Expect from the Tool?
I’ve already covered quite a few of the best features in the Grammarly Chrome extension. But I wanted to go a bit deeper as to what you can expect from using it yourself.
Since it’s a free extension, you really don’t lose anything by giving it a try.
Works Great with WordPress Gutenberg
As a large portion of what I do every day centers around writing content in WordPress, it’s nice to know the Grammarly Chrome extension works perfectly in Gutenberg.
This means I don’t have to copy and paste text from one platform to another if I simply want to write a blog post. And there are times when I’m editing an older article that the extension will flag errors we missed.
In fact, I haven’t bothered looking for a WordPress plugin for spelling or grammar. Aside from the plugin adding more bloat to WordPress, it’s really not needed when using the Grammarly extension.
Automatic and Highlighted Spelling Fixes
One of the first things you’ll notice is how the tool will highlight misspelled words with a red underline. This is if it doesn’t completely fix the word automatically.
Now, this only works for words that are absolutely spelled wrong. Unfortunately, the autocorrect feature doesn’t always pick up misspellings. But over the past few months, it’s become better at spotting errors.
The words that are not automatically fixed usually display a red underline. This gives you a chance to replace the word or leave it as is. And usually, the replacements are relatively accurate.
Predictions Regarding the Context of the Material
Depending on the type of text you use while writing, the Grammarly Chrome extension will let you know the tone based on its predictions. This is based on word usage throughout your content that gives it a certain appeal.
This means you can adjust the content to make it seem more “confident,” as in the example image above. According to the extension, this particular review leans more on “assertive,” which is what you would want in a review.
This overview will change several times as you write depending on the language you use.
Provides Synonyms of Words
One of the newer features of the Grammarly Chrome extension is that of synonyms. By double-clicking any word you type, the tool will give you alternatives to the term.
This is a great feature to have for those who don’t want to saturate their work with the same words over and over again. For one thing, it reads very poorly to the average person.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a complete list of synonyms. I’ve come across a few words that could have been changed to something else that Grammarly didn’t have in its list.
On the other hand, I’ve double-clicked words and had a slew of alternatives to choose from. So, it’s a bit of a hit or miss depending on the term and the overall context of the content. But, it’s still one of my favorite features.
It’s Not Always Accurate
There is no such thing as a grammar checker that is 100% accurate. Not even the human element is always correct. That’s because there are just too many nuances in language to be able to manage them all.
With that being said, I have found the Grammarly Chrome extension to work very well for our purposes. When the system gives me a false positive, I check the context of the sentence and verify the intent.
And sometimes, the system doesn’t pick up when you don’t capitalize the first word in a sentence. You’d think that would be one of the first things a grammar checker would identify.
Needs Premium Version for Greater Detail
While the free version does have a lot of functionality, the greater details are locked behind the premium service. And this is to be expected when you develop an app and need to make money off your brand name.
The free version gives just enough to be quite effective, but a better breakdown is often needed. Especially when you’re crafting an article, essay, story, or corporate memo that needs to be as close to perfect as possible.
If you write as often as I do, the premium price really isn’t all that bad of an investment. When you consider everything you get, such as learning why the changes are necessary, $12 per month is pretty good.
Yes, that’s a shameless advertisement. But, I only sponsor the products I find of value.
Has a Lot of Other Interesting Features
The Grammarly Chrome extension comes with a long list of features. I only pointed out some of the more practical ones above.
You also get the ability to disable the extension on specific websites, click to change text suggestions, and open the main Grammarly document screen with two clicks of the mouse.
For being a free grammar checker, it has a lot of flexibility.
Works Great with Online Book-Writing Apps
As I am an author, I use a lot of online writing apps such as the Reedsy book editor. Although Reedsy has its own spellchecker built-in, the Grammarly Chrome extension works perfectly in this environment as well.
In fact, I haven’t come across an online book-writing app where the extension hasn’t worked. As an author, this extension is like having an editor immediately read your manuscript without paying hefty fees.
Between Reedsy and the Grammarly extension, I haven’t written a story in LibreOffice in almost a year.
I sat here for quite some time trying to think of some cons to using the Grammarly Chrome extension, and I just couldn’t think of any. I’m sure some people will have specific issues with the tool. But from my perspective, it works amazingly well.
Would I Recommend the Grammarly Chrome Extension?
Thanks to the sheer amount of use I get out of the extension, I often recommend it to anyone who is serious about writing or blogging online. It can do wonders whether you’re trying to get visitors to your website or writing content for clients on Textbroker.
And as I mentioned earlier, having my writing team use it has cut a great deal of time out of my day.
Another aspect to consider is social media. It’s difficult to promote yourself as a freelance writer if your posts are littered with grammatical errors and obvious spelling mistakes. This can surely save you some embarrassment.
I know it has for me.
What Grammar Checking Tool is Your Favorite for Chrome?
I know not everyone likes Grammarly in general. Personally, it has been an awesome addition to my set of online writing tools. Especially since it works so well with WordPress and Reedsy.
In any case, part of being a successful writer comes down to the tools you like and what works best for your needs.
So, what kind of grammar or spelling checker do you use for your favorite web browser?
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