Alexis Kestler
Shareable content is the holy grail for bloggers and content creators. In today‘s crowded online space, creating content that resonates with readers and gets widely shared is no easy feat.
While great writing is the foundation, having a sharp eye to catch errors and inconsistencies during the editing process is equally important. Typos, grammar mistakes, overly complex sentences, and more can derail even the most compelling blog posts.
That‘s why proofreading is a vital part of crafting shareable content. However, it‘s also tedious and time-consuming work. Thankfully, there are many great proofreading tools available to streamline the process.
In this post, we‘ll highlight 12 of the top proofreading tools to help make your blog posts shareable. Whether you‘re looking to improve grammar, catch typos, enhance readability, or check for plagiarism, these tools have you covered.
1. Grammarly
Grammarly is one of the most popular grammar checking tools available. It reviews your writing and offers corrections and suggestions on grammar, punctuation, word choice, style, tone, and more.
Key features:
- Catches grammar mistakes and misused words
- Checks for punctuation errors
- Provides genre-specific writing style checks
- Gives explanations for every correction
- Customizable feedback based on your goals
- Browser extensions and desktop apps for easy access
- Free and premium versions available
Grammarly is easy to use. You simply copy and paste your text or write directly into its editor. It highlights issues and provides correction suggestions. The premium version offers more advanced suggestions based on your writing goals.
With strong accuracy and versatility, Grammarly is a top choice for general proofreading.
2. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is an in-depth editing tool focused on improving writing style and readability. It goes far beyond basic grammar and spelling checks.
Key features:
- Provides detailed style and readability feedback
- Checks for overused and repetitive words
- Flags vague and abstract wording
- Analyzes sentence structure and variety
- Catches punctuation errors
- Supports many style guides (AP, APA, Chicago, and more)
- Suggests ways to trim word count
- Customizable rulesets by genre and writing level
- Web app, desktop app, and MS Word integration
If you want to dig into your writing style and strengthen your blog posts for clarity and engagement, ProWritingAid is a superb choice. The editing insights it provides go well beyond most grammar tools.
3. Hemingway Editor
The aptly named Hemingway Editor assesses the readability of your writing. It highlights sentences that are hard to read and provides an overall grade level for your post.
Key features:
- Grades writing on the Flesch reading ease scale
- Flags complex and difficult to read sentences
- Identifies paragraphs with a high number of long sentences
- Gives suggestions to simplify language and structure
- Provides statistics on word count, reading time, and grade level
- Clean, distraction-free editor
- Web app, desktop app, and browser extensions available
The Hemingway Editor is ideal for bloggers who want their content to be easily understandable by a wide audience. It helps identify areas that need simplifying. The analysis also motivates you to break up lengthy, complex paragraphs.
4. After the Deadline
After the Deadline specializes in catching grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and other writing issues. It‘s designed to help you polish and refine your finished content.
Key features:
- Checks grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and more
- Provides explanations for every error found
- Gives suggestions to fix awkward phrasing
- Captures misused words (homonyms, etc.)
- Available as a browser extension and Windows app
- Supports English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish
- Offers a polished, distraction-free editor
- Free version available
After the Deadline is easy to use and great for a final scrub of your posts before publishing. The detailed explanations help you improve your proofreading skills too.
5. StyleWriter
StyleWriter focuses its analysis on your writing style. It provides feedback on elements like active vs passive voice, wordiness, sentence structure, and more.
Key features:
- Provides an overall style grading for your writing
- Checks for use of active voice and passive voice
- Flags redundant phrases and suggestions for simplifying
- Analyzes sentence structure for clarity
- Catches misused words and offers corrections
- Compares statistics against genre-specific benchmarks
- Offers suggestions for strengthening weak writing
- MS Word, Outlook, and Browser extensions available
- 30-day free trial
StyleWriter shines a light on your writing style and gives you concrete ways to tighten and strengthen your blog posts. If you want writing that clearly connects with readers, its insights are invaluable.
6. WordRake
WordRake focuses on identifying unnecessary words in your writing. Its key premise is that clearer, more concise writing is stronger and more readable.
Key features:
- Flags redundant words, phrases, and sentences
- Provides one-click removal of flagged sections
- Highlights poor readability with color coding
- Gives statistics on word count changes and reading ease
- Allows customization of editing rules
- Integrates with MS Word
- Free version available with limited use
- 30-day free trial of premium
WordRake excels at cutting the cruft from your writing. If you have a habit of using unnecessary words or convoluted phrasing, its suggested edits will help strengthen your blog posts.
7. Slick Write
Slick Write is a versatile proofreading tool that checks for grammar, style, and plagiarism issues.
Key features:
- Checks for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors
- Identifies poor readability and suggests fixes
- Provides feedback on writing style and tone
- Checks for potential plagiarism
- Compares statistics to genre-specific readability benchmarks
- Clean editor with distraction-free mode
- Customizable feedback based on audience and goals
- Free version with limited use
Slick Write provides solid proofreading across grammar, style, and readability. Having plagiarism detection built-in gives it an edge over some competitors. The customization options based on audience and intent are useful too.
8. Ginger
Ginger focuses heavily on catching grammar and spelling errors. It also provides some feedback on writing style.
Key features:
- Checks for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors
- Provides corrections and detailed explanations
- Suggests rephrases for awkward sentences
- Analyzes text readability
- Customizable feedback based on genre
- Browser extensions, mobile app, and desktop app
- Support for several languages beyond English
- Free and premium versions
Ginger provides very thorough grammar, spelling, and punctuation corrections. The detailed explanations help you understand and learn from your mistakes. For anyone still mastering English grammar rules, it‘s an invaluable tool.
9. Expresso App
Expresso App focuses on helping you strengthen your writing by identifying reuse of common words and phrases.
Key features:
- Highlights overused words and suggests alternatives
- Flags repeated phrases and cliches
- Provides readability grading
- Checks for weak verbs and adverbs
- Cleans up excessive punctuation
- Integrates with web browsers for easy use
- 14-day free trial
Expresso helps add variety to your writing by catching overused words and phrases you may have missed. The flagged issues you to tighten up repetitiveness that bogs down readability.
10. SpellCheckPlus
As its name indicates, SpellCheckPlus offers an advanced spell checker and grammar tool.
Key features:
- Catches spelling mistakes and shows corrections
- Checks grammar and highlights issues
- Provides statistics on vocabulary and readability
- Integrates as a Microsoft Editor add-in
- Customizable style and grammar rules
- Automatic suggestions for misspellings
- Support for US, UK, Canadian, Australian English
Having a sharp spell checker ensures inadvertent typos don‘t undermine your blog posts. SpellCheckPlus goes beyond a basic spell check to provide grammar and style proofreading too.
11. LanguageTool
LanguageTool offers free grammar, style, and spell checking for over 20 languages.
Key features:
- Performs grammar, style, and spelling checks
- Provides detailed explanations for flagged issues
- Supports many languages beyond English
- Customizable feedback based on genre and grammar rules
- Browser add-ons and mobile apps available
- Open source with free usage
For bloggers writing in multiple languages, LanguageTool is invaluable. The breadth of languages supported exceeds most proofreading apps. Even for English-only blogging, it provides robust proofreading capabilities for free.
12. PaperRater
PaperRater incorporates plagiarism checking along with its grammar, style, and spelling review.
Key features:
- Checks for grammar, style, and spelling errors
- Scans for potential plagiarism
- Provides statistics on readability, word choice, and more
- Offers paragraph-level analysis for deep insights
- Flags issues with verbs, nouns, adverbs, and adjectives
- Detailed explanations of all flagged problems
- Free version with limited use
Having plagiarism detection built into proofreading helps ensure you don‘t accidentally cross ethical lines. The paragraph-level analysis also gives insights beyond most sentence-level tools.
Make Proofreading Easier With These Tools
Catching typos, grammatical mistakes, style issues, and other problems before clicking publish is critical. SMALL problems in your writing can UNDERMINE even amazing content.
Don’t rely on manual proofreading alone. It‘s exhausting work and it’s easy to miss errors. The tools above strip out the pain and make perfecting your posts much easier.
They eliminate headaches, not creativity. You still need compelling ideas and great writing skills. These tools simply refine your finished drafts into shareable shape.
The best approach is using a combination based on your needs. For example, run Grammarly, Hemingway, and WordRake on each post. The combo covers grammar, readability, and unnecessary words from multiple angles.
Every blogger develops their own proofreading workflow over time. Try out a few of the tools above to see which you like best. Consistent use will result in stronger, cleaner content ready to connect with readers.
What proofreading tools do you find most helpful? Share your favorites in the comments!
