Many students at Scituate High school are unaware of the benefits Grammarly software can have on their writing skills. Grammarly helps to strengthen your grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. However, there is a negative stigma that has besieged Grammarly at Scituate High School. An abundance of students believe that using Grammarly is “cheating,” or, they simply don’t know how to use it. However, that is not the case, and most English teachers actually applaud the use of Grammarly.

SHS English teacher Caitlin Reilly encourages the use of Grammarly by her students. “I think it instructs students on how to effectively learn the writing skills that they might miss in the curriculum. Other times the curriculum may not teach some of the things Grammarly catches,” she said.

When students decide to utilize the website, the results are positive. Freshman Sam Benning said, “I use it for most of my essays, and it always checks my work, making sure I have correct punctuation and grammar all throughout. It is really helpful.”

So what is Grammarly? Grammarly’s FAQ page claims the software is “an AI-powered product that people communicate more effectively.” Grammarly is licensed by over 600 universities and corporations and boasts over a million consumers. Their main goal is to help students and professionals strengthen their writing skills and develop good habits along the way. They also credit the program as an effective way for non-native English speakers to learn the language.

Danny Todd, a junior at Scituate High School, enjoys Grammarly for what it is, but also agrees that it has its flaws: “The suggestions they give you are repetitive,” Danny said, adding, “When you write a long paper, the same edits pop-up over and over again.”

Professionals or students who are serious about writing can purchase Grammarly Premium. This program offers over 400 grammar checks, including vocabulary enhancement suggestions, sentence structure fixes, and plagiarism detectors. Upgrading to Grammarly Premium costs approximately $15 per month.