While some people can rely on their own grammar abilities and great word use, there are some who are standing out from the rest of the crowd. Grammarly has been around for about ten years and stands out from web browser auto-spellcheck in that it also checks for grammar mistakes - as its name implies. This article will have you using Grammarly in no time.
Steps
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Ensure that the Grammarly extension is active and running. Download and install it if necessary and make sure it is turned on.
- Make sure you have signed in to your Grammarly account if you have a paid subscription. Grammarly also works with more-limited check-choices as it monitors with their free accounts.
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Check out the Grammarly settings up in the top right corner. If you single-click the greenish-blue and white Grammarly "G" icon, you'll be introduced to its settings. Here, you can better manage your account and what you'd like the extension to check for you, as you write. Flip either the "Check Spelling and Grammar on (site name) " and/or "Show Definitions and Synonyms via Double Clicks (All Sites)".
- Make sure that you select your writing style as "American English", "British English", "Australian English" or "Canadian English" from the drop-down box next to the "I write in" label.
- Click on "My Grammarly" to get to your Grammarly account to take advantage of checking your other words (you'll learn about this later) such as words added to your personal dictionary, and manage your subscription level.
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Make sure you are using a multi-line text-box. If you are used to writing and editing on wiki-sites, such as wikiHow, this is one example. Others can be found in different places on the web - such as sites where people write reviews of items.
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Begin writing in the text-box. As you begin writing, Grammarly will begin checking for errors. As you begin typing, Grammarly will display a scrolling little red cogwheel in the bottom right corner - something that's saying it's checking for issues already. You'll also see red and blue underlines (depending on the action needed) on the text indicating an action needs to be completed.
- Red underlines indicate that fixes need to take place to improve credibility in your sentences. Blue underlines indicate wordy sentences.
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5Watch for spelling and grammar errors. As they pop up, you'll see the words become underlined in red. Grammar errors have a wavier underlined appearance. You can hover over and click the necessary fix to quickly fix them. Common fixes for most accounts include contextual spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and style.
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6Look for the red dot. You can find a red dot in the bottom right corner of working web sites which shows you the number of problems that exist in the document. If the "light" remains blue, it has not picked up on any mistakes.
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7Recognize that you can apply other fixes with the fixing toolbox. Click the all-caps "Add to Dictionary" button to add it to your personal dictionary, or click the all-caps "Ignore" button to temporarily ignore the issue and proceed.
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Use the synonyms substitute. Double-click a word in that text box and look for another word (if enabled). The lists are rather short but are organized based on the words' most common usages in most writing. Definitions are provided for each type of entry. Clicking on "See More in Grammarly" will open the text boxes' information to see each entry's reason.
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Open the Grammarly final-check editor. When you feel you've completed your check, hover over and click the red dot in the bottom right corner of the text-box to open this editor.
- For those on free subscriptions, there's a yellow dot that provides a link to can purchase the paid subscription.
- Explore the final-check editor. Start at the top and scroll through the text using your scroll-wheel on your mouse, the scroll bar at the very right side, or your arrow keys moving down to look through errors made and their fixes that can be dealt with. You will see the fixes on the right side are aligned with the line where the problem exists.
- Red error words explain the error and often point to a word that might be the best possible fix. Watch out for crossed-out red lines - this indicates the unnecessary punctuation used that should and can be removed easily by a single click.
- "Possibly-confused word" often indicates content issues that Grammarly can't determine or fix without your help. This may often be dealt with by clicking the fix in the right column.
- Click the grey drop-down pointer arrow in the right part of the card to expand it and read the reason why it's found this item as an error.
- If you don't see the error in the editor text box, by the time you move to this final-check editor (or whatever Grammarly is calling it, with no name displayed or mentioned in Help documentation), you'll spot these issues there too.
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10Learn about the different items found here. On the very left side, you'll see several tabs. One looks like the front end of a pair of pliers and is possibly the only button you'll need on a free account. This gives you the ability to tweak your checking types and displays how many errors have been made according to these descriptions.
- Below this is a magnifying glass and bookmarked-page for paid subscriptions that check for plagiarism and vocabulary enhancements.
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11Return to the top of the page. At the very top left corner, you'll see a "Back to (tab name)" that you can click to send your fixes back to the text box.
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12Give the Grammarly full-window editor time to apply the final fixes. The text box may flicker a second or two later, but this may be the result of longer text and for it to apply all the fixes as you applied.Advertisement
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Tips
- Grammarly isn't perfect. It gives you some advice to follow and watches what you say. No logs (except the database of added words) are made of your writing, but it begins watching the moment it's given words to monitor.Thanks
- Grammarly's extension for Microsoft Edge has problems with wikiHow's talk page entry boxes. After you click into the talk page box, it'll start your text typing right overtop of your profile picture.Thanks
- If you don't want Grammarly to check your writing on a certain website, you can hover over the bottom right corner card and click the "power" button - which can often only be seen clearly with a delicate hand and eyes that spot small changes since the colors blend in with the tools-information box.Thanks
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