Finding the Errors Grammarly Can't Fix
Multilingual writers must eliminate all the inaccuracies they can
Grammarly is not your editor.
Grammarly will not make you a better writer.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against using AI to check texts for syntax errors and spelling mistakes. It’s incredibly helpful, especially for multilingual writers, as it makes work more accurate. Of course, it’s difficult for even the most diligent writers to spot their own inaccuracies. Our writing brains have in-built auto-correct filters, and robots do not.
The purpose of this article is not to tell writers to consign Grammarly (or any other AI writing tool) to the bin; it is to advise caution.
Nowadays, we tend to grasp hold of any time-saving or labour-saving device. Great, we think, let’s get started and our problems will be solved.
Grammarly claims that it does the hard work so you don't have to. But the abdication of responsibility — leaving key decisions about your text to a computer — robs writers of key skills they need to succeed in 2024. While AI can only formulate data, writing is human.
AI can’t assess the quality of the meaning you convey. It doesn’t know anything about your linguistic and cultural background, nor does it understand who your readers are. All it can do is follow the rules (and give advice as if it were the law). It knows nothing about who you are and the unique voice you offer. Yes, on the whole, it's useful for proofreading and finding your typical errors. But be careful! Sometimes, it gets things plain wrong.
When Grammarly gets it wrong
Here are seven examples of when this ‘editing’ software was not able to make the right call.
Homophones — Homophones are words with different meanings and spellings which sound the same. Because of this, we often confuse them when typing.
Grammarly spots some, but it missed this one.
I met her down at the key. (incorrect)
I met her down at the quay. (correct)
Continuity mistakes — AI cannot compute human errors such as switching character names or traits.
An example is describing someone as having blonde hair in one paragraph and brown hair in another.
Tone of voice — AI doesn’t understand writing context.
You write ‘Fancy a lil’ drinkypoo?’ to your partner. Grammarly suggests ‘Do you fancy a little drink?’ (which is far less fun).
Passive Voice — Grammarly hates it.
Sometimes the passive voice is essential to build focus in a sentence or avoid mentioning the subject.
e.g. ‘The victim was shot in the crossfire.’ vs. ‘A police officer shot the victim by accident.’
Tenses — AI employs rigid style suggestions. e.g. Simple tense = preferable; continuous = less desirable.
There is a difference in meaning between ‘We are facing challenges’ (temporary), and ‘We face challenges’ (permanent).
Spelling — Grammarly makes suggestions based on frequently used words.
Sometimes it suggests words like ‘composting’ instead of ‘composing’.
I was composing my article, not gardening!
Synonyms — The app suggests switching out overused or repeated words.
Be careful! Synonyms have slightly different meanings. Sometimes, it’s not possible to avoid repetition. This can be a real issue for writers whose first language is not English. Perhaps they chose a word as it is more recognisable to their readers (rather than a more ‘natural sounding’ word).
All of these issues can be avoided if you use Grammarly as a final check. In the Google Chrome browser, you can do this by switching the ‘data reading setting’ on Grammarly to ‘when you click on the extension’.
Do not let the annoying red lines force you into unwanted changes.
Don’t skip the human editing and proofreading stage. And most of all, don’t allow non-sentient software to influence your choice of vocabulary and phrasing. I haven’t even touched on some of the ridiculous style suggestions that Grammarly Pro provides.
And finally, seek feedback. You may see messages such as ‘100% accurate’ or ‘great job!’, but Grammarly is not your editor. It’s crucial that writers get feedback from editors, bosses, colleagues, mentors, or writing buddies. We need other humans to guide us.
If everybody used Grammarly as their editor, articles would become more homogeneous, which defeats the purpose of online publishing being open to diverse voices.
By all means, use digital tools to aid your writing accuracy, but remember, Grammarly will not make you a better writer.
Only you can do that.
Win $100 in our Quarterly Competition
Paid members of the community can enter our cash-prize competition.
The theme is 'Quarter’ and the word limit is 250.
Your writing can be about any topic (which includes the theme).
It can be creative or functional writing.
It might be a story, some advice, a company post - no rules.
OK… a few rules.
Word limit — 250 (use wordcounter.net to check)
Emojis allowed (1 emoji = 1 word).
Include content warnings for sensitive topics.
Must feature the theme in a meaningful way.
1 image permitted with the post.
I will judge the entries on creativity, language skill, delivery of message, and originality
Deadline: 30th September 2024.
The winner (announced October 1st) can choose one of these prizes:
1) $100 (via PayPal, Payoneer or transfer)
2) a professional copy-edit of your work (up to 5k words)
3) a profile review and 1-hour coaching session on your business goals.
All paying members of the Multilingual Writers’ Community can enter.
Good luck and happy writing!
Thanks for reading.
See you next week.