Cheat Code Week: Grammar-Checking Apps

In days of yore, the only way to check your writing syntax and style was through editors. Yay, progress! There are now free tools to do all that work on your behalf. I use two: Grammarly and the Hemingway App. Technology isn’t always right, though, so neither tool can act as an autocracy. You must question it at every turn.

Let’s take a look at Hemingway. The software highlights overcomplicated language, words that dilute your effect, grammar mistakes, and readability. The highlights are colour-coded so that you can tell what the software is criticising you for. Let’s explore this.

Readability Score

Hemingway is designed to get you writing at around seventh-grade level. That means your text must be simple enough for a seventh-grader to understand. For that reason, it could downgrade your vocabulary far too much. While you should certainly look at your readability score, simplicity isn't always the best choice. Hemingway finds this paragraph over-complicated. I chose not to simplify it because doing so would make the flow too choppy. Sometimes, complexity is the best stylistic choice you can make. Usually, only commercial clients will ask you to write to seventh-grade level. It isn’t a rule of thumb unless you’re a commercial content creator. Still, most of your text should meet Hemingway's higher readability levels, so assess your readability score intelligently.

Weakeners

Hemingway is exceptionally good at identifying redundant and unnecessary words. If you use words like “certainly,” Hemingway will complain. You’ll notice I didn’t remove the word from that paragraph up yonder. That’s because Hemingway isn’t particularly good at identifying rhetoric. Use the tool, but question it.

Hemingway also considers passive speech a weakener, and it almost always is. You will, however, occasionally need to divert from active language for the sake of clarity.

Grammar and spelling

This is a premium feature on Hemingway, so it’s just as well Grammarly is a thing that exists. The free version is wrong even more often than Hemingway. This is the life you lead if you’re unwilling to pay for editing apps. Use Hemingway for your spelling, by all means. If it’s highlighting a grammatical problem, however, question it before you settle on a solution. Grammarly is often wrong. It does underline redundancies, passive language, and weakeners, but you must pay if you want to see why. This should not be necessary. If you see a yellow highlight, you should be able to identify the problem on your own.

Both of these apps are helpful, but neither is perfect. Hemingway has highlighted four highly problematic issues in this post. I disagree with all of them, so I’ve let them stand. Suck it, Hemingway! Even with technology at your side, you must still grow strong enough to weed through its suggestions intelligently. Still, these tools are wonderful for learners and second-language English speakers, so please use them.