There is perhaps two key fundamentals when it comes to writing; spelling and grammar. Without these two things in place no matter how talented the writer or how well they have written, their work will be undermined. The issue is that there are so many rules to be observed, and so many words that can be easily be misspelt. Even the most seasoned of writers can make mistakes and without the use of an editor it can difficult and incredibly time consuming to comb through every passage, every paragraph and every word to seek out and correct the mistakes.
But with the increasing availability of technology specifically targeted at writers and those within the publishing industry, there is no wonder that multiple tools have been released to help combat this proble, and provide a level of automation to the screening process for said mistakes.
One tool doing just that is Slick Write. In this review we will take a look exactly what Slick Write is, how it benefits its users, what price point it sits at, what competitors it has and ultimately whether not not it is a worthwhile or necessary tool for writers to use.
What is Slick Write?
Slick Write is self described as a powerful, free application that makes it easy to check your writing for grammar errors, potential stylistic mistakes, and other features of interest. Whether you are a blogger, novelist, SEO professional, or student writing an essay for school, Slick Write can help take your writing to the next level.
Users who are curius about the tool can try an interactive demo and all users are able to access Slick Write without any software download or any installation, with extensions available on all major browser platforms. Some of the key features or functionalities can be seen below.
⁃ Very fast grammar check
⁃ Customisable feedback to suit each users style
⁃ Add impact to reports
⁃ Grade / Review Performance improvement
⁃ Increase in audience engagement
Some other key features include;
⁃ Quotation Checker, allowing users to see where quotes are being used within the writing and if they are being used correctly
⁃ Vocabulary Variety, allows users to see how often they are ushont certain words and if there is a pattern or trend that needs correcting, suggests better words to use
⁃ Flow Tool, a display of sentence structure to see how sentences flow based on word length, sentence length and continuity
⁃ Statistics, these stats provide a holistic view of how good one’s writing is with a variety of metrics such as word count, sentence length, sentence types and much more
⁃ Word Associator, particular useful for those experiencing a block or barrier in their writing process, this tool helps break through that and offers up new and potentially previously I thought of words for the writer to use
Slick Write ultimately aims to go beyond spell checking and grammar analysis to provide insights and advice on best writing practices and styles in order to educate its users and the habits of effective writers.
Slick Write – Pricing
Perhaps the biggest upside to Slick Write is it’s price point or rather it’s lack of one. Slick Write is completely free to all users which puts it at a serious advantage to a number of its competitors. However, every business even if their product is free has to make money, so how Slick Write do lol es this is unclear. It may be down to paid advertising which could be potentially invasive and irritating for its users, it could be through mailing lists whereby it’s users sign up with an email and then receive future emails regarding other products and services or it could be something else but it’s always worth being careful regarding a completely free product.
Slick Write – Competitors
As you can imagine there are a number of competitors to Slick Write that offer up similar services as features. These include tools like GlobalVision, EmEditor, Ginger, ProWritingAid, and CopyLeaks. Perhaps the most common of these competitors and a company that has become something of a household name is Grammarly.
Grammarly has exploded onto the market since it’s launch in 2009 and whilst it hasn not exactly cornered the market it has certainly become the de facto choice for many writers seeking such a tool. Below we will look at Grammarly in direct comparison.
The primary pros to using Grammarly in direct comparison are;
⁃ Real time grammar corrections
⁃ Most accurate spelling, grammar and style analysis
⁃ Fully customisable with detailed explanations behind decisions, suggestions and reasoning
The primary cons to using Grammarly in direct comparison are;
⁃ The free version is very minimal and offers an incredibly reduced set of features
⁃ The paid plans whilst naturally carry full functionality are comparably very expensive
The primary pros to using Slick in direct comparison are;
⁃ Provides basic grammar suggestions for all types of writing
⁃ Easy to use grammar checker
⁃ Displays average sentence count, insight into paragraph structures and total word count
⁃ No cost at any level, completely free
The primary cons to using Slick in direct comparison are;
⁃ Limited corrections and features
⁃ No plagiarism checker
Slick Write Review – Final Analysis
To conclude then, it is clear that Slick Write is a valuable tool that can help writers navigate the tricky waters of grammar and spelling. However, that does not mean that it is a tool that is vital to every single writer.
Some writers may be in a position where they are already working with an editor or already have a tool in place that means a service such is Slick Write is not going to be beneficial to them.
It is also worth saying that as we mentioned earlier, there are a wider variety of tools available, which cater to all sorts of budgets and needs. If someone is in a position where they require a tool to assist with grammar and spelling then Slick Write might not be the first choice.
The best way to view this decision making process would be for each writer to engage in a period of self reflection and evaluation before undergoing a comparison of each service to determine which path forward is best for them.
Upon doing so they may find that Slick Write gives them what they need especially due to the fact it is free. If however they have the budget to spend more money on a tool or it is an absolute must that that they have certain features than Grammarly or one of the other products may be the best option.
