Is Grammarly the Final Word?

As I suspected, the program’s uses are limited

Yesterday, I received a private note from a Medium editor who suggested I install Grammarly to correct some issues on the submitted piece. Specifically, he noted that the article contained more than one run-on sentence. I read through what I’d written and found that indeed, the very first sentence seemed a little long.

But here’s the funny thing about that: The piece was originally written for a major online publication. And the opening sentence had been changed (by my editor) and made longer. The run-on sentence was his not mine! The story didn’t run because it was slated for publication on a big news day and got bumped. And by the next available time slot, the piece was dated. Bottom line: I got paid but it never ran.

Here’s another funny thing: When I installed Grammarly, the software found numerous “issues” none of which I agreed with. And oddly, it did not find any issues with the opening sentence!

Previously, I had avoided downloading Grammarly because I questioned how effective software could be in improving the work of a writer who’s a reasonable grammarian. And while I do find some uses for the program now that we’ve been introduced, I’m in agreement with my initial skepticism. All writers have their style, tone, and even ways of using punctuation to adjust their flow. Software is not equal to the task of interpreting what goes on in the mind of a writer like a live editor hopefully is.

Yet it presumes to do just that. I find that intrusive.

In his note, the editor used the word (or two words) “run on” as exactly that — two words. When I typed “run on,” Grammarly told me to use “run-on.” The editor hadn’t practiced what he preached in writing the private note.

I re-submitted the article with the first sentence changed. And I ignored all the other suggestions because first, I didn’t agree with them. And second, the entire article had been edited by two human editors at the A-list publication already.

I don’t imagine the story will be published by the Medium editor who sent the note. But I did learn something from his feedback, and I will use Grammarly in the future. Just on a very limited basis. The program is not really for people familiar with proper grammar, syntax, and punctuation. Which is hopefully who’s contributing here on Medium.

Fyi…Grammarly found no issues with what you’ve just read. But that doesn’t make this perfect. It just means the story fit into a cookie-cutter software.