One of the areas of homeschooling I have felt to be the most time consuming is checking my children's writing. It is easier in the early grades where the curriculum is focusing on one element at a time. Older students have mastered many elements and include them in their writing. Looking for errors in spelling, punctuation, and context can be very time consuming.
Add to my busy schedule the fact that I have been out of school for more years than I care to count. My grammar skills are often rusty. I want to teach my children how to write properly and not pass down my errors. I often have to pull out a book or two to review some obscure rule. This takes more time than I usually have to spare.
Not only do I need to check my children's writing, but I also need to check my own. I really enjoyed freelance writing on the side until I had my last two children. Once they came, I had to give up a good portion of my writing assignments. I simply did not have the time to give it the proper amount of attention. I have often thought, "It would be nice to have a grammar checker that could look for all of these elements of grammar for me!"
This is why I was so excited when I learned about Grammarly in an email. This program will be beneficial to homeschooling mothers and freelance writers! It checks for multiple elements in their writing. It checks for spelling and punctuation, but does not stop there. It goes on to check their grammar and context as well! Grammarly also checks for plagiarism and offers citation recommendations. Grammarly checks for 150 types of errors and makes corrections and recommendations. It is an amazing tool that will save a lot of time!
It is so very simple to use too. You copy and paste your document into the editor window. Then, you click the review button and wait for the results. The results pop up on the screen, and you can make changes to your text as you like. You can see a sample of critical writing issues it found with the program's vocabulary enhancement suggestions below:
Grammarly will be an asset to all writers. Homeschooling mothers will be able to check their students writing much faster. Older students will be able to run a report on their rough draft. They will still learn valuable writing skills, and moms who like to freelance will have more time to pursue their own writing.
I challenge you to write four or five paragraphs and run it through the editor window at Grammarly. Read through your report. See how much you remember, or learn how much you have forgotten. Either way, you will learn a little more about yourself and maybe pick up some better writing skills!
