How to Use Grammarly for Academic Writing: Complete Guide
Meet the Expert
Shruti Sharma
Academic Writing Coach & Research Communication Specialist
- Uses Grammarly Premium daily in academic writing coaching for PhD scholars
- Has compared 10+ AI writing tools for research writing effectiveness
- Specialist in thesis language improvement, academic tone, and research communication
Grammarly is highly effective for academic writing when used correctly. Set your document goals to Domain: Academic, Tone: Formal, use Grammarly Premium for advanced style suggestions, and treat its recommendations as guidance rather than commands. For PhD thesis and research papers, Grammarly catches grammar errors, improves sentence clarity, and flags plagiarism — but always run a final check with your institution's Turnitin tool.
Grammarly Features That Matter Most for Academic Writing
Grammarly for Academic Writing
Catches basic errors; essential for all academic submissions
Rewrites unclear sentences; improves readability of complex ideas
Suggests stronger, more precise academic words and phrases
Checks against 16B+ web pages; useful pre-submission screening
Identifies informal tone in academic writing and suggests formal alternatives
Grammarly AI can rewrite entire sentences; use critically in thesis writing
Step-by-Step: How to Use Grammarly for Your Thesis
Step 1: Install Grammarly and Set Up Your Document
Install Grammarly as a browser extension, Microsoft Word add-in, or use the Grammarly Editor (grammarly.com). For thesis writing, the Word add-in is most convenient as it works in your existing thesis document.
Step 2: Configure Your Writing Goals
Before editing, click the Goals/Target icon and set:
- Domain: Academic
- Intent: Describe, Inform, or Analyze (depending on your chapter)
- Audience: Expert or Knowledgeable
- Tone: Formal
Step 3: Review Suggestions Critically
Grammarly's suggestions are not always correct for academic writing. Key rules:
- Accept grammar and spelling corrections readily
- Review style suggestions carefully — some correct passive voice that is actually appropriate in scientific writing (e.g., "The experiment was conducted" is correct in methods sections)
- Do NOT blindly accept all vocabulary suggestions — always verify the suggested word fits your academic context
- Never use Grammarly AI rewrites verbatim for large sections — adjust to maintain your academic voice
Step 4: Use Plagiarism Check as Pre-screening
Before final submission, run Grammarly's plagiarism check. Note: this checks against web content, not journal databases. Use it to catch accidental unquoted phrases, then run Turnitin or iThenticate for final submission-grade plagiarism checking.
| Grammarly Feature | Useful For Academic Writing? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic grammar & spelling | Yes — essential | Accept all corrections |
| Punctuation corrections | Yes | Accept most; check comma use in complex sentences |
| Passive voice suggestions | Partially | Keep passive voice in methods & results sections |
| Wordiness corrections | Yes | Academic writing should be concise |
| Vocabulary enhancement | Yes — selectively | Verify context before accepting |
| Plagiarism check | Yes — for pre-screening | Also use Turnitin for final submission |
| AI full rewrites | Use with caution | Risk of losing your academic voice; may trigger AI detectors |
Grammarly vs Paperpal: Which Is Better for Academic Writing?
| Feature | Grammarly Premium | Paperpal |
|---|---|---|
| Academic focus | General + Academic mode | Specifically built for academics |
| Science writing | Good but flags valid passive voice | Excellent; understands scientific conventions |
| Word integration | Yes (add-in) | Yes (native add-in) |
| Language for Indian English | Moderate | Better for Indian academic English |
| Plagiarism check | Yes (web-based) | No (separate tool needed) |
| Price | ~$12/month | ~$25/month |
| Best for | General academic writing, essays, reports | Journal paper submissions, thesis final polish |
Pro Tip: Use Grammarly and Paperpal Together
Many PhD researchers use Grammarly for daily writing (drafting chapters, correcting grammar) and Paperpal for the final polish before journal submission or thesis submission. Grammarly catches gross errors throughout the writing process; Paperpal ensures publication-ready academic language at the end. This combination gives the best of both tools without the cost of using Paperpal every day.
Want expert help polishing your thesis language beyond what any tool can do? Thesis Ace Writers' academic editors provide human-level academic language improvement that tools cannot replicate.
Related Reading from Thesis Ace Writers
Need academic editing and thesis proofreading by an expert? Contact Thesis Ace Writers for professional academic writing support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click a question to expand the answer.
Yes, Grammarly is excellent for improving grammar, sentence clarity, punctuation, and academic tone in thesis writing. Grammarly Premium adds style suggestions, vocabulary enhancement, and plagiarism detection. However, Grammarly is a general writing tool — for discipline-specific academic language (science, medicine, engineering), Paperpal or specialist academic editors may be more appropriate for final thesis polishing.
Grammarly Free checks basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Grammarly Premium adds: (1) Advanced writing suggestions — clarity, engagement, delivery; (2) Vocabulary enhancement; (3) Style suggestions for formal academic writing; (4) Plagiarism checker (compares against 16 billion web pages); (5) Tone detection; (6) Full sentence rewrites via Grammarly AI. For serious thesis writing, Grammarly Premium is significantly more useful.
Grammarly works reasonably well for technical writing but has limitations. It may flag correct technical terms, discipline-specific jargon, or intentional passive voice constructions (common in scientific writing) as errors. Researchers should use Grammarly's suggestions as guidance — not blindly accept all changes. For highly technical scientific writing, Paperpal, which is specifically trained on academic literature, often performs better.
Yes, Grammarly Premium includes a plagiarism detection tool that checks your text against over 16 billion web pages. However, it does not check against published journal databases (unlike Turnitin or iThenticate). For thesis submission, always use your university's official plagiarism checker (usually Turnitin) in addition to Grammarly's plagiarism check, as they use different databases.
In Grammarly, you can set the domain and tone for your document. Go to 'Goals' (the target icon) and set: Domain = Academic; Tone = Formal; Audience = Expert or Knowledgeable. This instructs Grammarly to apply academic writing standards, avoid informal suggestions, and maintain appropriate formality for research writing. This significantly improves the relevance of Grammarly's suggestions for thesis and journal paper writing.