Grammar
8 Features to Consider When Choosing an Online Grammar Checker
Learn about the top features to look for in a grammar checker, including spelling, grammar, phrasing, and AI rewriting.
It wasn’t that long ago that grammar checkers were simple software tools that only highlighted punctuation issues like a missed comma or misplaced semi-colon. However, since the rise of AI, online grammar checker tools have expanded their capabilities.
In addition to these capabilities, multiple factors have contributed to the popularity of grammar checkers, including:
The benefits of online grammar checkers are clear, but how do you know which one to choose? There are so many grammar features and options available that knowing what to look for can be a challenge.
We’ve narrowed down the list to eight features to consider in an online grammar checker. Whether you’re an editor, content marketer, or web publisher, these eight features will help improve your writing flow and prepare your piece to be as polished as possible.
First things first, an online grammar checker should have spelling and grammar-checking capabilities.
Beyond simply correcting grammar, look for a grammar checker with grammar tips. Tips provide a better understanding of why that correction is recommended so you can learn to avoid those grammatical mistakes in future.
Today’s online grammar checker tools are also sophisticated enough to identify more complex grammar issues.
This means going beyond highlighting common punctuation issues like commas, periods, or semicolons. Many grammar checkers also highlight more complex issues, such as:
Keep in mind that specific capabilities can vary by grammar tool. To find out the specific grammar recommendations your grammar tool offers, check out its website for more information. You can learn more about Originality.ai’s Grammar Checker here.
In addition to identifying spelling mistakes, English grammar checkers will often analyze writing and offer suggestions to make writing clearer or more concise so that it’s easy to understand.
Then, certain tools also offer the ability to tailor writing tone to match your audience, such as academic, formal, or professional.
However, if the tone adjustments generate AI copy (such as a ‘rewrite’ suggestion), they may increase your AI detection score. Read more about AI detection scores and whether using Grammarly impacts AI detection.
A nice-to-have feature which some grammar tools offer is synonym recommendations. If a grammar checker offers synonym recommendations, it’s like having a built-in thesaurus at your fingertips.
For instance, a grammar checker could recommend examples of synonyms for ‘look at,’ including:
Depending on the writer’s intent, the best synonym for the sentence will vary. For example, if you are going to ‘have a look at a document,’ then ‘glance at’ would work well as a synonym. However, if you are ‘looking at the animals in a zoo,’ then ‘watch’ or ‘watching’ is a better fit.
The key takeaway with synonym recommendations? It’s important to balance editorial experience alongside grammar tools.
AI is one of the key reasons why online grammar checkers have experienced such a resurgence.
Many free spell checkers were designed prior to the rise of AI. Originality.ai offers an AI grammar checker that rapidly checks for grammar and spelling issues in an intuitive interface, upgrading your editorial process and taking it to the next level.
Some grammar tools use AI to suggest rewrites or rephrasing. If you want to make your writing flow better or sound more natural, you may find yourself reading the suggested rewrites and thinking, “that’s better, I’ll use that.”
However, when you use AI rewriting features, this can flag the copy as AI. Learn more about Grammarly and AI detection with regard to ‘rewrite’ features.
So, how can you strike a balance between AI rewriting or rephrasing suggestions and maintaining the authentic tone of your unique writing style? Focus on correcting spelling and grammar mistakes. Then, use your editorial expertise to modify sentence structure and maintain a unique tone.
Today’s advanced AI detection models, like Originality.ai Lite, allow for light AI editing and minor adjustments (like Grammarly’s spelling or grammar suggestions).
This is a great option for those who want to take advantage of AI grammar checkers and review content to identify potential instances of AI.
The best online grammar checker is the one you use the most often, which means it has to be convenient and work across a number of platforms and devices. The Originality.ai Grammar Checker is designed with ease of use in mind and accessibility across devices.
This gives you greater flexibility in knowing that wherever you’re working — you can have clear, concise, and polished writing.
Today’s advanced grammar tools often include plagiarism detection as a part of their editorial tools.
For instance, Originality.ai offers best-in-class tools for marketers and publishers, including a plagiarism checker, AI detector, and readability checker, so that you can publish with confidence.
The Originality.ai plagiarism checker creates a plagiarism report that highlights the potentially plagiarized content along with sources so that you can further review and revise content. By combining multiple tools, from grammar checking to plagiarism detection, you can streamline your editorial process and save time.
With these features in mind, you can choose the best online grammar checker that does more than just check for basic spelling and grammar mistakes. Look for advanced capabilities, including:
By keeping these points in mind, you’ll not only write with style and clarity, but you can also write and publish with integrity.