The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Grammarly

As a writer, effective communication is key to your success. Knowing how to craft clear, compelling content that engages your readers.

Luckily, there are tools available to help strengthen your writing and ensure your message comes across professionally. Grammarly is one such resource that can help take your writing to the next level. Whether you’re a student, professional, or hobbyist writer, Grammarly provides an easy way to improve your grammar, spelling, and clarity. In this beginner’s guide, you’ll learn how to get started with Grammarly, take advantage of its key features, and utilize the tool to transform your writing through simple but impactful changes. With Grammarly by your side, you’ll gain confidence in your ability to produce high-quality writing that influences and inspires.

What Is Grammarly and How Does It Work?

Grammarly is a digital writing assistant. It reviews and provides suggestions to improve your writing by checking for grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and style issues.

To use Grammarly, you first need to create a free Grammarly account. Once you have an account, you can connect Grammarly to various writing platforms like Gmail, Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and your desktop word processor. Grammarly will then automatically review anything you write on those platforms and provide suggestions to improve your writing.

Grammarly uses artificial intelligence to analyze your writing and provide personalized suggestions. It checks for common grammar mistakes like subject-verb agreement issues, misplaced modifiers, and incorrect comma usage. It also checks for proper spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Grammarly can suggest alternative words or phrases improve your writing style by avoiding repetition or making your language more concise or compelling.

Grammarly has both free and paid subscription options. The free version provides basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation checks. The paid Grammarly Premium version provides more advanced checks for word choice, tone, brevity, and clarity in addition to plagiarism detection. Premium also includes weekly progress reports to help you strengthen your writing over time.

Whether you’re a student, professional, blogger, or casual writer, Grammarly can help strengthen your writing through AI-powered suggestions and explanations. Using Grammarly, you’ll gain confidence in your ability to produce clear, impactful, and error-free writing.

Signing Up for a Free Grammarly Account

To get started with Grammarly, you will need to create a free Grammarly account. Here are the steps to sign up:

1. Go to grammarly.com and click the “Sign Up” button at the top right of the page.
2. Enter your email address and the password you would like to use for your Grammarly account. Grammarly requires a minimum length of 8 characters for passwords. Click “Sign Up” once you have entered your email and password.
3. Open the verification email Grammarly sends you and click the link inside to verify your email address. This step confirms that you own the email address and helps prevent fraud.
4. Enter some basic information like your name and language. This information helps Grammarly provide more personalized suggestions and recommendations for you.
5. Choose which types of documents or platforms you want to use Grammarly with. You can connect Grammarly to platforms like Google Docs, Microsoft Office, your web browser, and more. Connecting more platforms means Grammarly can check more of your writing.
6. Review and accept Grammarly’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. These documents outline how Grammarly collects and uses your information as well as your rights as a Grammarly user.
7. Start using Grammarly! Your free Grammarly account is now set up and ready to provide grammar, spelling, and style suggestions on your writing. You can upgrade to a Grammarly Premium subscription at any time to access additional features.

With some basic steps, you can sign up for a free Grammarly account and start improving your writing today. Grammarly’s AI-powered writing assistant can help you communicate more clearly and confidently wherever you write.

Installing the Grammarly Desktop App

Downloading the Desktop App

The first step is to download the Grammarly desktop app to your Windows or Mac computer.

• Go to grammarly.com/desktop and click “Get Grammarly for Windows” or “Get Grammarly for Mac” depending on your operating system.
• Follow the prompts to download the installation file to your computer.
• Once the download is complete, open the file and follow the instructions to install Grammarly.
• You may be asked to sign in with your Grammarly account credentials or create a new free account. Enter your email and password to sign in.

Setting Up the App

After installing the desktop app, you’ll want to configure the settings to best suit your needs.

• Open the Grammarly desktop app on your computer.
• Go to “Settings” in the left sidebar to adjust options like your writing goals (improve grammar, improve vocabulary, be more concise), tone (formal, informal), and dialect (British English, American English, Canadian English).
• Choose which types of documents you want to check - options include essays, articles, emails, social media posts, and more.
• Select the level of formality for your writing from very informal to very formal. The app will adjust recommendations based on your selection.
• Enable or disable grammar, punctuation, spell check, and plagiarism detection as needed.
• Review and modify personal dictionary words and set language preferences if desired.
• You also use the Grammarly Chrome extension on Dekstop browser.

Using the Desktop App

With the setup complete, you’re ready to start using the Grammarly desktop app.

• Open any Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or web-based document and start typing.
• Suggestions from Grammarly will appear, underlining potential issues in your writing.
• Click on any underlined text to see an explanation and suggestion for correction.
• Accept or ignore the suggestions as you see fit. Grammarly will learn from your choices and provide increasingly tailored recommendations over time.
• Run a full plagiarism check on your document by clicking “Check Plagiarism” in the sidebar. Grammarly will scan billions of web pages to detect any unoriginal content.

The Grammarly desktop app can help strengthen your writing skills and boost productivity. Follow these steps to get started with this useful tool. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Using Grammarly on Your Mobile Devices

To get the most out of Grammarly, you can also use the mobile keyboard apps for iOS and Android. The Grammarly keyboard provides spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections as you type in any app.

Downloading the Grammarly Keyboard App

To download the Grammarly keyboard app, open the App Store (iOS) or the Google Play Store (Android) on your mobile device. Search for “Grammarly Keyboard” and tap to download the free app.

Enabling and Using the Grammarly Keyboard

Once installed, you need to enable the Grammarly keyboard:

1. Go to your device’s keyboard settings or language and input settings.
2. Tap to enable the Grammarly keyboard. You may need to disable other third-party keyboards first.
3. Select Grammarly as your default keyboard or choose which apps use the Grammarly keyboard.

With the Grammarly keyboard enabled, open any app where you enter text, like Messages, Emails, or Social Media. As you type, Grammarly will provide real-time spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections and suggestions.

• Tap on a suggestion to accept it.
• Double-tap to reject a suggestion.
• Swipe right to dismiss a suggestion.

The Grammarly mobile keyboard also includes:

• Contextual spell check: Catches common typos and spelling mistakes in your writing style and vocabulary.
• Grammar and punctuation check: Checks for mistakes in subject-verb agreement, article use, comma placement, and more.
• Vocabulary enhancement: Provides synonyms and alternative phrasing to improve your writing.
• Personal dictionary: Adds words and names you frequently use to Grammarly’s dictionary.
• Incognito mode: Turn on “private mode” to disable tracking and disable saving what you type to your Grammarly profile.

To get the most out of the Grammarly mobile apps, be sure to also download the main Grammarly app, create a free Grammarly account, and connect the apps to your account. The mobile keyboard will then provide personalized writing suggestions based on your unique writing style and typical vocabulary in the main Grammarly app.

How to Use Grammarly to Check Your Writing

Install the Grammarly App

The first step is to install the Grammarly app on your desktop or mobile device. Grammarly offers free browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox as well as apps for Windows and Mac. Once installed, the Grammarly app will automatically check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors whenever you’re writing on the web.

Connect Your Accounts

Next, connect the accounts where you do most of your writing like Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The Grammarly app will then check for errors in the emails, posts, messages, and updates you compose on those platforms. You can also connect to Google Docs to have your documents proofread in real-time.

Check Your Drafts and Upload Documents

As you write, run your drafts through the Grammarly editor to check for any issues with grammar, spelling, or punctuation before publishing or sending. You can also upload Word, PDF, and text documents to be proofread. Grammarly will provide feedback and corrections to help strengthen your writing and ensure it is clear, concise, and compelling.

Review and Apply the Suggested Edits

Carefully review each of the issues Grammarly flags in your writing and determine which edits you want to apply or ignore. Some suggestions may be overly strict while others introduce unintentional changes in meaning. Use your best judgment to maintain the intent and effectiveness of your message. With regular use, Grammarly’s suggestions become more accurate based on your typical style and preferences.

Grammarly is a useful tool for writers at every level to improve their craft and communicate with greater clarity and impact. By following these steps to install the app, connect your accounts, check your documents, and thoughtfully review the suggested edits, you’ll be leveraging AI technology to strengthen your writing in no time. With practice, Grammarly can make you a better and more compelling communicator.

Understanding the Types of Grammarly Suggestions

Grammar Suggestions

Grammarly will provide suggestions related to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. These aim to correct mistakes and ensure your writing is clear and concise. For example, it may suggest fixing a misused comma, correcting a spelling error, or revising a wordy sentence. Take the time to review each grammar suggestion carefully.

Vocabulary Suggestions

To enhance your writing, Grammarly may propose alternative words or phrases that are more precise or eloquent. For instance, it may suggest replacing very with a more compelling adverb like exceptionally or tremendously. Or it may propose substituting a phrase like a large amount of for a more concise term like myriad. Consider each vocabulary suggestion individually and only make changes that improve clarity and flow.

Style Suggestions

Grammarly’s style suggestions focus on making your tone and phrasing more consistent and compelling. For example, it may suggest rephrasing a sentence for parallel structure or concision. Or it may propose combining choppy sentences to improve flow and cohesion. Grammarly also checks for common style issues like repetition, vague or ambiguous phrasing, and overly complex language. Review each style suggestion and revise as needed to strengthen your writing.

Plagiarism Check

In addition to grammar and style suggestions, Grammarly can check your writing for plagiarism. The plagiarism checker scans your text and compares it against over 16 billion web pages to identify any sentences or passages that may be duplicated from other sources. For any possible plagiarism detected, Grammarly provides the original source so you can review and revise or properly cite the content. Using the plagiarism check feature helps ensure your writing is fully original and properly attributed.

In summary, taking advantage of Grammarly’s suggestion types - grammar, vocabulary, style, and plagiarism checks - can help strengthen your writing through an easy-to-use feedback and revision process. With regular use, Grammarly can assist you in developing precision, eloquence, and originality as an author.

Customizing Grammarly Settings to Your Needs

Customizing Grammarly’s settings allow you to optimize the tool for your unique needs and preferences. There are several options you can adjust to improve your experience.

Personal Dictionary

Add any proper nouns, acronyms, or terms specific to your industry to Grammarly’s personal dictionary. This will prevent the tool from flagging them as misspelled or incorrect. You can also add colloquialisms or any words you frequently use that Grammarly does not recognize.

Plagiarism Detection

Enable or disable plagiarism detection based on your needs. For academic work or any writing where plagiarism is a concern, keep this feature on. For casual or creative writing where you may intentionally reuse phrases or descriptions, you can turn it off.

Context

Select the context that best matches the type of writing you are working on. Options include casual, academic, business, technical, and creative writing contexts. Choosing the appropriate context helps Grammarly provide the most relevant suggestions and corrections for your needs.

Goals

Set specific goals for the types of feedback you would like to receive from Grammarly. For example, you may want to focus on conciseness and clarity for business emails but on correctness and engagement for blog posts. Select all that apply for the most comprehensive feedback.

Subject

Choose a subject to give Grammarly more context about your writing topic or genre. Options include areas like humanities, social sciences, education, and journalism. Specifying a subject helps improve Grammarly’s recommendations.

Customizing these options gives you more control over how Grammarly interacts with and provides feedback on your writing. Take time to explore each setting and update them as needed to get the most out of this useful tool. With the proper adjustments, Grammarly can enhance your writing in any context.

Grammarly Features

Grammarly’s robust set of features makes it an invaluable tool for writers at any skill level. Its AI-powered algorithms help you strengthen your writing in key areas.

Spell Check and Grammar Check

Grammarly automatically checks for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. It highlights misspellings, incorrect verb conjugations, and misplaced commas to help you polish your prose.

Plagiarism Checker

Upload or paste your content and Grammarly scans the internet to check for plagiarized or unoriginal content. It flags any sentences or phrases that match information from over 16 billion web pages and ProQuest’s academic databases.

Writing Style Suggestions

Grammarly analyzes your writing and provides recommendations to improve clarity, conciseness, and coherence. It suggests ways to rephrase sentences to be more compelling and impactful. Grammarly also checks for commonly misused words and redundant phrases.

Vocabulary Enhancement

For those looking to strengthen their vocabulary, Grammarly suggests synonyms and alternative phrasing make your writing more compelling. Simply hover over the underlined words to see a list of substitutes.

Tone Detection

Grammarly detects the overall tone of your writing as positive, neutral, or negative. It then provides feedback on how well your tone matches your intended audience and goals. You can adjust as needed to achieve the optimal tone for your message.

Additional Features

• Document Editor: Grammarly integrates with Microsoft Office and Google Docs.
• Browser Extension: The Grammarly extension checks your writing on websites like Gmail, Twitter, LinkedIn, and anywhere else you write on the web.
• Mobile Keyboard: The Grammarly keyboard instantly checks your writing in any app on your iOS or Android device.
• Weekly Writing Tips: Grammarly sends a weekly email with practical writing tips and advice.

With Grammarly’s comprehensive set of features, you have everything you need to produce clear, compelling, and mistake-free writing for any purpose. Achieve your writing goals and build your confidence as a writer with the help of this AI-powered writing assistant.

GrammarlyGO: AI Writing Assistance

Grammarly’s AI writing assistant, GrammarlyGO, provides on-the-go writing suggestions and corrections through a mobile keyboard app. Once downloaded, you can enable the Grammarly keyboard which will provide real-time writing feedback as you type in any app on your mobile device.

Real-Time Writing Support

As you compose emails, texts, social media posts, or anything else on your phone, GrammarlyGO will highlight potential issues with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice. The AI system will suggest corrections and improvements help you write clearly and confidently from anywhere.

• Enable the Grammarly keyboard in your phone’s keyboard settings.
• Open any app where you enter text and start typing.
• Grammarly will underline possible mistakes and offer suggested corrections as you go.
• Tap on a suggestion to accept the correction or ignore the ones you wish to pass by.

Personalized Feedback

Over time, GrammarlyGO learns your writing style and provides customized suggestions based on the genres and audiences you write for most frequently. The more you use the keyboard, the more tailored the recommendations become.

Seamless Integration

GrammarlyGO works with all of your favorite mobile apps where typing is involved - no need to copy and paste the text into a separate grammar-checking tool. Whether you’re responding to an urgent work email, posting on social media, or sending a quick text, GrammarlyGO provides on-the-spot writing help without interrupting your flow.

For those constantly communicating on the go, GrammarlyGO eliminates worrying about writing errors and allows you to focus on your message and audience. With the power of AI and natural language processing, Grammarly brings professional proofreading assistance to the palm of your hand anytime inspiration strikes. Writing on mobile has never been easier or more effective.

Upgrading to Grammarly Premium

Upgrading to Grammarly Premium provides several advanced benefits for serious writers.

Enhanced Feedback

Grammarly Premium offers more detailed feedback and suggestions to help strengthen your writing. It provides contextual spell check by flagging improperly used homophones (e.g. their/they’re/there) and commonly confused words (e.g. affect/effect). It also checks for the proper use of commonly misused phrases and detects subtle grammar issues.

Genre-Specific Writing Styles

With a Premium subscription, you can select a writing style based on the type of content you’re creating. Options include academic, business, casual, technical, and creative. Grammarly will adjust its recommendations to match the appropriate writing style and tone. This helps ensure your writing is clear, concise, and compelling for your intended audience.

Plagiarism Detector

For students, academics, and professionals, the plagiarism checker is an invaluable feature. It scans your text against over 16 billion web pages and ProQuest’s academic databases to identify any sentences or phrases that match other sources. Any potentially unoriginal content will be highlighted so you can review and revise it as needed. This helps you maintain proper attribution and avoid unintended plagiarism.

Additional Resources

Premium membership also provides access to Grammarly’s online writing resources and tips to help strengthen your writing skills. Resources include writing style guides, common grammar rules, and interactive exercises.

With enhanced feedback and features tailored for serious writers, upgrading to Grammarly Premium can help take your writing to the next level. For a modest monthly or annual fee, you’ll gain access to powerful tools for improving your writing and gaining confidence as an author or content creator. If writing is an important part of your work or studies, the investment in Grammarly Premium is well worth it.

Grammarly Tutorial FAQs: Common Questions Answered

What is Grammarly?

Grammarly is a digital writing assistant that provides spelling, grammar, and punctuation checks to help you write with more confidence. It is designed for both professional writers and casual writers who want to improve their writing skills and prevent embarrassing writing mistakes.

How does Grammarly work?

Grammarly works by using artificial intelligence to analyze your writing and provide personalized feedback and corrections. As you write in the Grammarly editor or using the Grammarly browser extension, Grammarly checks for possible grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice errors. It also checks for plagiarism by scanning billions of web pages and documents.

Is Grammarly free to use?

Grammarly offers a free version with basic writing checks as well as Grammarly Premium for more advanced checks. The free version includes checks for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and common word choice mistakes. Premium offers additional checks for sentence structure, conciseness, formality, and plagiarism detection. Premium also provides genre-specific writing style checks for academic, business, and creative writing.

What integrations does Grammarly offer?

In addition to the Grammarly editor and browser extension, Grammarly integrates with several popular writing platforms and tools. This includes Microsoft Office (including Word and Outlook), Gmail, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. These integrations allow you to get Grammarly writing suggestions wherever you write online.

Grammarly can be an invaluable tool for catching embarrassing writing errors and helping you strengthen your writing skills. With both free and premium options available, Grammarly works for writers at every level. By consistently using Grammarly, you can drastically cut down on grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in your writing.

Conclusion

After working through this comprehensive beginner’s guide, you now have a solid understanding of how Grammarly works and how it can benefit your writing. With regular use, Grammarly will strengthen your writing over time by identifying weaknesses and providing personalized feedback for improvement. While Grammarly should not be solely relied upon, it serves as an effective tool for catching common grammatical and stylistic errors that you may miss. With the knowledge you’ve gained here today, you’re well on your way to sharpening your writing and communication skills, one correction at a time. Keep practicing and keep improving - you’ve got this!