Grammarly – the best possible way to completely ruin your writing

What better way to kick off my writer’s blog than with a horror story!

Okay, maybe that’s not quite fair. I did end up using Grammarly in the end, although not in the way it was intended.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the program, Grammarly purports to be a piece of software that can check your writing for grammar and spelling mistakes. Go onto any website aimed at writers, and chances are you will sooner or later see one of their banner ads.

Grammarly makes some pretty bold claims. Try this one:

“Academic, professional, and creative writings all require unique styles of editing. Grammarly’s technology adapts to your writing needs, ensuring that no matter what your project may be your grammar is impeccable. Just choose the genre of writing you need edited, and voilà! How might you utilize Grammarly’s proofreading prowess?”

Adapts to your writing needs? Impeccable? Wow! At first glance one might think editors the world over might be scanning the job section of their local paper for new career options. But I doubt it. First of all, to anyone familiar with the basics of English grammar, the notion of a program capable of delivering “impeccable” results will be a joke. And it is.

I first came across Grammarly while looking for a way to give my edited manuscript a final “once over” before sending it off to my publisher. Ironically, I did end up using it for just that. But here’s the thing; I know enough about grammar to be able to ignore both the 99% of “errors” discovered, as well as the recommended fix for remaining 1%. Had I let the program loose on my manuscripts and simply accepted what it had to say, I would have ended up not with a novel, but an incomprehensible mess. In the interest of fairness, I copied a few paragraphs out of  one of my favorite books to see what Grammarly would make of them. Needless to say, the result was frightening.

This got me thinking about the countless thousands who turn to this program for help with their manuscripts, essays and letters every day. So I went onto the website to have a look at some of the testimonials left by users. According to the company, Grammarly has over three million happy customers and some of the things they have to say about it are so ridiculously over the top that no one but a member of their own marketing department could possibly have come up with them.

My conclusion; Grammarly might improve your writing if you don’t speak English very well, but it won’t do much for anyone else, and it sure as hell won’t teach you how to write. If improving your written English is your aim, get a hold of a good grammar book, read a lot, and practice even more. And when you’re ready for editing, get a hold of a human one. They might be a little harder to deal with (and they’ll cost a little more), but they’re also capable of thinking. Something your Windows PC or MAC will never do.