Do you need help with writing tools for students, such as writing tools for secondary school students or writing tools for university students? You will find that most of the free writing tools for college students and free writing tools for high school students are not free.
Are you looking for a list of the best free writing tools for students, or maybe the best software to use while studying? Here are some answers to questions that are usually asked about Student Writing Tools.
Google Docs:
Price: Free
If you’re looking to collaborate with other writers or you’re working on a group project, this free site is perfect for you. The program is similar to Microsoft Word, but it’s free and its documents can be shared in real-time.
You and multiple classmates can be working on the same document anywhere, anytime. Even if you don’t use this program for collaboration, it’s nice to write in Google Docs because all work is automatically saved- so no need to worry about losing work if your computer starts doing something crazy.
When your writing is done, you can share the doc with a friend to help proofread it, or you can submit it to a professor who also uses Google.
This free spreadsheet, form application and web based word processor that is offered by Google allows the user to create and edit documents, while at the same time collaborating with others in real time.
This free spreadsheet, form application and web based word processor that is offered by Google allows the user to create and edit documents, while at the same time collaborating with others in real time.
bubbl.us:
Price: Free with an option for premium at $6/month
Bubbl.us is a tool to use to get your ideas flowing. This virtual mind map helps you brainstorm how your essay will take shape.
Before you begin writing, visit Bubbl.us to make a free map of your thoughts. It helps you structure your big ideas, add supporting details, and eliminate non-essential information before you dive into the actual writing of your paper.
You can also share your map and use it to collaborate in group projects whenever you need.
BoomWriter:
BoomWriter is where composition meets gamification. BoomWriter is designed to be a collaborative tool, encouraging elementary, middle and high school students to share, review and vote on others’ work anonymously. Actively reviewing and sharing work earns students points they can put towards sprucing up their avatar on the app.
This creates a healthy level of competition that inspires students to continue writing and aiming for their best. The tool also helps teachers gain a more complete understanding of student performance in the areas of writing, grammar and vocabulary.
OneLook:
Price: Free
Once you’ve started putting together a draft, you’ll need a tool to help you choose your words wisely. OneLook offers free assistance in making your words unique and less repetitive.
OneLook has a dictionary tool that provides many different sources to help you choose the right use of a word. More importantly, it offers an intense thesaurus and reverse dictionary that can help you create colorful and exciting language in your essays.
Quill:
Quill is an all-in-one writing tool that supports grammar, revisions and lessons for upper elementary, middle and high school students. The proofreader and grammar capabilities are helpful when writing essays and reports, and the connect tool lets students identify run-on and fragmented sentences. By providing students with instant feedback on their writing, they learn essential writing tips in real-time.
Quill also has a lessons feature, which enables teachers to lead instruction both to the entire class and in small groups. Quill’s lessons include writing prompts, discussion topics and independent follow-up writing activities to reinforce what was learned. Lastly, Quill has a diagnostics feature that shows teachers what students need to work on. This tool generates personalized lesson plans for each student based on their past activity and performance within the app.
Readable:
Price: Options for $4-$24 per month, depending on desired features
If you’ve ever wondered what grade-level your writing is, Readable will let you know. This site (which has a limited, but helpful free version) will let you know the readability of your text along with offering help with spelling and grammar and giving you lots of data about your text (syllables in words, number of adverbs, and more).
Readable is the perfect tool for decoding your writing and help you make sure your writing is suitable for your audience.
Pro Writing Aid:
Pro Writing Aid is another Chrome extension that improves the writing process. This style, editing and grammar tool is great for high school students who are writing more complex essays and reports, especially in Google Docs.
In addition to checking grammar, Pro Writing Aid checks for consistency in style and readability. It also makes note of overused words and dull paragraph structure, so students can improve their skills in writing with more compelling language. The built-in thesaurus offers suggestions for words that have been overused. Even more important is Pro Writing Aid’s built-in plagiarism checker, which is always helpful to have on hand.
Word Counter:
Price: Free
Every student needs to be aware of the length of their writing. This easy-to-use online tool will count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and pages in real-time, along with spelling and grammar checking.
You can type directly in the site or you can simply copy and paste your paper into the tool to make sure you are within your assignment’s guidelines.
Students can make the most of this tool when writing to help them count the number of times a word has been used in a document. The tool is ideal for students who have a tendency of overusing certain words.
Storybird:
This tool is designed to help students become more creative, thoughtful storytellers. Storybird is an online tool designed to engage students in the art of story by both reading and writing them. It’s filled with writing prompts, lesson plans, video tutorials and quizzes all designed to make young learners better writers.
Course topics include how to survive middle school English, learning to debate with literary arguments and understanding different perspectives through point of view. Beyond the basics, Storybird also has a number of creative writing courses, including some taught by well-known authors and others which follow seasonal themes. Young students will benefit from the basic stories on Storybird; older students in middle and high school can create their own.
BibMe:
Price: Free with an upgrade option for $9.95/month
Hate adding citations to your papers? Yeah…us too.
But BibMe makes the process of sourcing your work much less painful. It will help create citations for APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. The paid version also checks for unintentional plagiarism and missing citations.
Most (if not all) scholarly papers need a bibliography. Students are required to make citations of the source information that they are to include in their paper. This tool provides students with four formats: MLA, APA, Chicago or Turabian for citation.
Conclusion:
When you’re writing a paper and you need that “special” tool, these free writing tools for students will be just what you’re looking for. Use them to write better essays, term papers and research papers – or as a creative writing tool – or as a reading comprehension tool.
If you’re anything like me, you’d rather be doing something other than writing—in this case, I’d much rather be sleeping. Writing is hard. But this post isn’t about the difficulties of writing; it’s about making your writing better by using free writing tools for students.