A new editing tool that was recently brought to my attention is the automated grammar checker. Supposedly, they work very much like a spellchecker, only the concentration is on grammar and sentence structure.
These days, with the influx of written material available, it is important to be well-written if you want to stand out and be taken seriously. This includes correct sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation.
In the age of text messaging, instant messaging, and chat rooms, basic grammar and spelling rules are completely ignored in the interest of saving time and space. Because of this, our use of correct grammar, puctuation and spelling has taken a hit. Therefore, we have become more reliant on automated tools to check our written work.
One such tool is Grammarly, which can be run much like a spellchecker to ensure sound grammar.
I have yet to use such a tool, but I wouldn't mind looking into adding a grammar checker to my proofreading weapons.
However, I can tell you now that I'm likely to feel the same about grammar checkers as I do about spellcheckers: they're great tools as long as they're not the only ones you use when looking over your work.
If you're interested in learning more about the pros and cons of grammar tools, The Urban Muse has an excellent guest post on the topic.
The interesting thing about this post is that there are a number (albeit small) of grammatical errors that were overlooked by the author. I can only guess at whether he used any of the automated tools he discusses, but, either way, it just goes to show that nothing beats the human eye when it comes to proofreading.
What do you think? Ever tried a grammar checker? Do you think using one would be useful or just get in the way?
Image: Grammarly.com
© 2011 Tiffany Jansen, writer