Does a sentence sound incorrect?  If you can’t fix it immediately either by drawing from your own experience or the all-in-one writing software running on your desktop, just leave it in the meantime. When writing, it’s frequently more important to keep your thrust going forward than to worry about pleasing the grammar gods – at least, until you’ve put all your main ideas to the page.

That’s precisely why I’m a major advocate of most any technological tool that can aid in writing.  Software applications, with their automated functions, help correct problems and mistakes while making no requirements that distract your attention away from the main job.  What kinds of tools am I talking about?  Personally, I’m a huge fan of the following:

1. Desktop-based thesaurus and dictionaries.  Looking for an alternate word or unsure of the current one’s meaning.  Simply look it up and you’ll get an answer in less than five seconds.

2. Text expanders. If you do repetitive writing (such as headers, slogans or keywords), text expanders can shorten your typing duties immensely.

3. Spelling and Grammar checkers. Instead of having to ponder the correctness of your words and sentences,  you can simply run a grammar software to proofread your copy for adherence to English rules and spelling.

4. Style checkers. Good writing often entails more than grammatically-correct copy.  Style checkers help you shape that writing into a form that’s sleeker and more succinct – just like an athlete ready to take the game to the next level.

1. Word’s grammar checker just isn’t that good

While Word is one of the most useful pieces of software around, it’s grammar checker just isn’t that good.  Not to badmouth the world’s most widely used text editor, but it does try to do a little too much and usually ends up spreading itself too thin in the process.

2. Standalone grammar checkers just work better

Standalone grammar software does the job considerably better.  While Word can frustrate you as it flags perfectly good sentences as “potentially incorrect,” standalone products usually get the offending items right.

3. Grammar checkers improve over time

Some English grammar software include learning modules that allow it to get better, the more it becomes acquainted with your writing preferences.  Instead of just steering you to proper grammar use, it helps correct other facets of your writing.

In the same vein, standalone grammar software is usually updated frequently.  As the developers improve their algorithm, they roll out patches and updates that provide you with the cutting-edge of writing software – something you’ll never get with a program like Word, where the grammar portion is treated as an aside.

Frankly, I would be surprised if anyone didn’t raise their hand.  Grammar subjects, after all, always felt like one of those things teachers invented solely to give you more trouble than necessary.    “I already know how to speak English, what do I need grammar school for,” I’ve heard students ask again and again.

When you’re young like that, you rarely realize the true value that formal grammar lessons can get you.  With proper training in correct grammar, you’re able to:

• express yourself more clearly in conversations
• write letters and correspondences that make your points poignantly
• understand written material with a level of comprehension you otherwise wouldn’t have developed
• hundreds of other specific benefits

As you grow older and enter the workforce, you begin to realize how important all that training was even after school.  With a solid foundation in speaking and writing skills, you’re able to qualify for more job positions, make a better overall impression with colleagues and are able to conduct better negotiations.

If you failed to imbibe a strong grasp of the English language during your younger years (and I know many in this predicament), it’s never too late to start.  Even using a simple grammar software for your personal writing can help you learn errors you are currently committing.  If you use it as a learning tool, it’s never too late to make up for all the grammar lessons that you missed – especially now that you’ve gained a better appreciation of it.

1.  Read through your text again, paying special attention to spelling and grammar use.

2.  If, after first readings, you notice that you regularly leave out mistakes, try reading your copy aloud.  The brain will be forced to process the material at your speaking pace, making it less likely to ignore noticeable errors in your copy.

3.  Get into the habit of proofreading every piece of writing you do.  As humans, we tend to resist doing extra work if we can get away with it.  Integrating the process into your regular behavior will make it easier to do consistently.

Finding Errors

Most of the errors you will find are so basic, you can’t believe you actually commit them.  That’s a good thing – because that reinforces just how important the act of proofreading actually is to your work.  Of course, if you really can’t be pushed to perform the necessary extra work, you can just invest in the best English grammar software you can find, which should provide the same quality results at just the flick of a button.

Looking back at those pieces that actually made it to print, the editors fixed up my misuse of plural verbs and changed them to their singular form instead.  Oddly enough, I never noticed them correcting it in the past and simply went about writing in plural like I always did.

When I got my first English writing software a few years ago, I was surprised that it kept flagging my plural use of company names as a mistake.  I checked out grammar books to prove that this software had it wrong.  Of course, I ended up discovering that I’ve been doing a critical mistake over and over.

As it turns out, companies should be treated the same way in your writing as a single person.  Same with countries, organizations, governments and other groups.  If you’re guilty of the same mistake, make sure to keep that in mind.

Over the last few years, English grammar software has bailed me out of so many writing errors, I honestly couldn’t keep track.  To this day, I consider my investment in a good grammar software as one of my best professional decisions.

For writing help, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of online services offering various proofreading functions, including spellchecking, grammar checking and more.  I’ve used many of them and, for the most part, their results are acceptable.  They’re neither perfect nor exceptional – but a slightly corrected copy is always better than nothing.

Desktop-based grammar checkers like WhiteSmoke, on the surface, work much the same way  as their online equivalents.  Use both for any amount of time, though, and the difference will be apparent.

Since online services are largely limited by server resources, you can bet that they’ll only perform the most basic of grammar features.  It will probably catch spelling, punctuation and a few other blatant faults, items that can be verified without using too much intensive processing.  An English grammar software, on the other hand, won’t carry the same limitations.  As such, it can perform the same functions that online checkers will do, while having the ability to do a lot more.

Apart from regular spelling and grammar checks, computer-based English writing software can also analyze writing styles, give suggestions in comprehensibility and facilitate advanced proofreading functions that can sometimes mimic a live editor.  There’s really no comparison.  If you need a grammar checker, ditch the online services and stick to desktop-based solutions – it will pay off better in the long run.

English writing software, for the most part, can catch common grammar errors.  It can even give suggestions when you’re trying to write in a particular style.  We all know, though, that good writing is more than just about avoiding double negatives and bad punctuation.  In many ways, writing well has to do with clarity and how well you impart your message.

Here’s a little secret: you can intentionally write the most garbled statements using flawless grammar and fool any writing software into thinking that you’re writing is good.  It sucks, but it’s true.  When you’re using English grammar software to help you, put faith that it can clean up bad entries in your copy, but it won’t change the core ideas that you use to express your message – that bit is all up to you.

All software are based on algorithms.  The best English grammar software are usually derived from “learning” systems that read millions of different copy (from newspapers to business reports to blog posts) and processes those input to develop its core set of good practices.

Personally, I’ve seen what grammar software can do with large writing projects and I’m amazed with its results.  If you take care of the job at your end, making sure your ideas express your message the best it can, the software can usually manage the rest.

When you run a grammar software to fix up your copy, it will show you all the changes you can make to improve your writing’s clarity and overall quality.  These intelligent pieces of software can take any written work, put them through the rules of grammar and show you the offending parts.

Of course, not all grammar rules are set in stone.  Some can actually be passed over, without affecting the clarity of your work.  In fact, intentionally breaking them might make it even more sense.

Here are a few situations where you can actually break grammar rules and get away with it.

1. Beginning sentences with conjunctions

I used to break this rule incessantly.  I have since tempered myself, but some sentence transitions just work better when you start a new sentence with “And,” “But” and other similar conjunctions.  When used to drive a point home, it creates a much stronger impact than most any other way you can arrange your sentence.

2. Ending sentences with prepositions

The practice of ending sentences with prepositions is formally regarded as incorrect, but remains constantly used across many forms of writing from newspapers to academic reports.  Some sentences simply work better that way.

3. Splitting infinitives

The word “to” plus its corresponding verb is the standard infinitive of the English language and, for a long time, it was considered sacred – you were not allowed to insert any word in between them.  Often, though, sentences do read better with split infinitives, especially when enriched with a descriptive adjective between them.

Spelling errors. Grammar software applications will catch all your spelling errors, from simple typos that misplace letters to downright poor spelling skills.  You may not be able to beat sixth graders in a quiz bee but you can sure as hell look like it!

Aural errors. Less-skilled writers often write what phrases sound to them.  As such, they’ll write something like “could of” instead of “could’ve,” which is the proper way.  Your grammar software will take one look at this and fix it up in a jiffy.

Preposition errors. Good grammar software will alert you to possible errors in preposition use.  This is a very sophisticated feature that can determine whether you’re sticking with your own logic.  Make sure to review intently.

Double negatives. Pretty easy to catch, a decent grammar software will always find this and suggest a better alternative.

Sentence fragments. If your sentences are incomplete and weak, you can count on the grammar software to notice it.

Punctuations. Many untrained writers tend to either do too much of punctuations or not do enough of it.  Either way, English writing software will get your copy up to speed.

Non-standard usage. While these types of phrases can be right, they’ll usually get you in trouble when your copy is being judged under professional standards, whether it is for school, work or business.  Best stick to the 100% correct alternatives.

The Offer. Make sure to detail the offer in as concise a way as you can. It’s the heart and soul of your copy, the whole driving force behind your pitch. If the offer isn’t clear, how are your customers supposed to figure out what they’re getting out of the whole deal?

Speaking To The Right Audience. Instead of writing text that tries to be everything for everyone, tailor each piece to a particular type of customer.  You won’t sell the business benefits of a touchscreen smartphone, for instance, to an audience of 18 year old college students.  It will likely just go over their head and make them conclude it’s not a product that they can use.

Sound Natural. The more natural-sounding your copy is, the less of a sales pitch it will come across.  No one likes being sold to.  If you manage to arm your copy with a conversational tone that looks to help, rather than persuade, the more willing your audience will be to follow you into the next step.

Call-To-Action. Always let them know what the next step is.  Whether that is clicking through to a certain website or signing up with their email address, state it in no uncertain terms.  If you don’t tell them what to do, it’s highly likely that they won’t do anything.

Be Concise. Every word included in your copy must be relevant to your message.  Your aim is to sell – anything that doesn’t help you achieve that is a waste of time.  Use an English writing software to help trim your copy so that it expresses your ideas without a thought out of place.