Chrome / Firefox Extension of the Week: Grammar
Even if you are the next Stephen King or George R.R. Martin – and if you are the last, please try to write faster – everyone needs a helping hand with writing. This is why there are copy editors and editors in the world, grammar coaches, ten million writing books, and most importantly, browser extensions that can help you improve your skills.
Let’s face it; You can be a good writer, but self-editing your work can be a painful process. While the Grammarly extension for Chrome and Firefox can’t catch everything, it does a pretty good job of catching obvious grammatical errors and horrendous spelling mistakes.
After installing the extension, Grammarly walks you through a fairly simple onboarding process. You are asked to indicate what you mainly write – for work, study or other projects. You are also asked to self-rate your average writing level: beginner, intermediate, or advanced. Grammarly then creates a small profile of what kind of writer you are to provide the most relevant and meaningful suggestions for your work.
If you create an account with Grammarly, your settings will be synced across all locations where you installed the extension. And it’s all! Start typing an email or blog post for two examples, and Grammarly will flag times when there is a helpful suggestion or correction – just like the little underlined red words in your browser when you misspell a word.
Although Grammarly is disabled by default, it can also be used as a dictionary and thesaurus; just click its icon in the browser toolbar and select the “Show definitions and synonyms by double-clicking” option.
If you then click “My Grammarly” on the link at the bottom of the Grammarly pop-up and then click “Profile” in the sidebar, you can add your own words to the Grammarly dictionary. (Don’t worry; “Smize” is already recognized.) You can also change your language preferences — this is useful, for example, if you write British-style English instead of American.
Do you have a Chrome or Firefox extension that you really like? Tell us about it: david.murphy@lifehacker.com .