Good writing skills are essential for student performance and career success. In the SAT test, performance in the writing section is the most accurate predictor for college success – more so than either math or critical reading. Despite this, there has been a decline in student writing scores by 5 points since 2011. In fact, the writing section of the test is consistently the poorest area of performance for students in general.
Research shows that writing is fundamental to success in the workplace. A 2004 survey by the National Commission on Writing reports that writing is a “threshold skill” for employment and promotion. Whether composing an e-mail or preparing a detailed report, employees need to be able to express themselves clearly. – The College Board
What is Grammarly?
In a nutshell, Grammarly is an online grammar and spelling checker. It helps users locate and correct writing mistakes easily and efficiently. Here’s how it works:
As you type, Grammarly works in the background to check for common grammatical errors and to correct contextual spelling mistakes. It also unobtrusively offers vocabulary enhancement tips and provides citation suggestions that you can apply with the click of a mouse. Grammarly also offers explanations for the reason behind each correction to help you make an informed decision about whether, and how, to correct an issue.
- as an online editor
- as part of your browser extension (chrome, safari and firefox)
- for microsoft office
- on your desktop
Grammarly also offers plagiarism detection which is a great feature for both teachers and students to determine if a piece of writing passes the plagiarism test.
Is it worth it?
Results from a student survey:
- 70% of student respondents report that Grammarly has increased their level of confidence in their writing ability;
- 99% of student respondents report that Grammarly has improved their writing grades; and
- 84% of student respondents report that Grammarly has improved their grades in general.
People with strong writing skills are better at their jobs and they get paid more!
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Nurture for the Future 