Go-To Grammar and Plagiarism Tools

Dear Writer,

There’s no shortage of tools for writers. Aside from help with the writing itself, there’s an ever-growing number of tools for organizing, researching, and editing your work. There are so many, in fact, that you could easily spend your time researching all these options instead of actually writing.

That said, though, there are a few that are useful in every writer’s arsenal. For our purposes here, we’ll concentrate on those that help with the writing itself. We suggest choosing two or three that are easiest to use and help you maintain a high standard of quality in your work.

Here are our top choices:

Grammarly is a widely used AI-powered grammar checker. When we look at as many drafts as we do during a project, it’s easy to miss things.  For new and experienced writers alike, Grammarly ensures correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It also features a plagiarism checker.

For clarity, Hemingway Editor is a game changer. As the home page says, “Hemingway App makes your writing concise and correct.” The web and desktop app measures readability based on grade levels (. It detangles long, complex sentences and identifies words you can simplify and shorten. It helps you streamline your writing and make it more effective. An upgraded paid version fixes the length and complexity issues it identifies in your text, checks grammar, and adjusts tone.

Copyscape is a free plagiarism checker that helps you avoid duplicating content from the internet. Given how easy it is to copy large chunks of information from the internet, it’s essential to have a tool that ensures your text is original. There are several other plagiarism checkers available, and as with other writing tools, it’s a matter of personal preference. Most have free and paid versions depending on your level of usage.

As noted above, if you have Grammarly, you may not need a separate plagiarism checker. Review the features of the apps you’re considering to make sure you’re not paying for duplicate functions.

No discussion of tools for writers is complete without mentioning AI. We like Claude.ai and ChatGPT for generating headlines, outlines, and content ideas. They’re also useful for summarizing, and they can suggest different ways to express a concept or write a particular sentence or paragraph. They can’t replace the empathy, creativity, and strategic thinking of a human writer, but they’re excellent tools for working with large, complex projects and organizing your ideas.

These are the writing tools we find most useful, but any list like this is naturally subjective. We recommend doing your own research to find those that best suit your individual needs. For a deeper dive, a basic Google search will turn up dozens of options, all intended to help you produce clear, effective writing.

Best Regards,