Every semester, thousands of students learn how to use reliable and reliable writing tools to write everything from book reports to college essays. Some students use the same tools their teachers recommend while others experiment with different platforms and websites in an effort to write faster and write better. Many free and paid writing platforms exist online and many offer a variety of tools that empower users to take control of their learning process.
Inthis article, I will be showing you what writing tools are being used by students…
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.
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.
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.
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.
ProWritingAid
Price: $70 per year
ProWritingAid markets itself as a “grammar checker, a style editor, and a writing mentor all in one package.” This site will provide you with basic editing, but also (for a fee) help with style issues and repetitive mistakes.
For college students, the plagiarism check feature is a nice addition to make sure the words you are choosing are strictly your own.
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.
Grammarly
Price: Free with an upgrade option for $11.66/month
Grammarly is a free online proofreading tool that offers suggestions for grammar and spelling edits. Its free version offers basic writing edits, but for its paid subscribers, Grammarly will check for things like tone, offensive language, and plagiarism.
Grammarly can also be added as an extension to your browser to help you catch any errors in emails and online documents.
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.
Mellel
Mellel is a word processor for Macs and iPads. Creative writers and screenwriters can use Mellel’s story tool to identify turning points in a narrative, develop timelines of events, and keep track of characters and locations. Academics may appreciate how it works with reference managers like Bookends to generate bibliographies.
Mellel supports several languages, including languages with non-Latin alphabets like Syriac, Arabic, and Hebrew. The normal price is $49; however, discounts are available for students and faculty. You can also try Mellel for free for 30 days.
Ulysses
Ulysses is a writing app that you can use on your Mac, iPad, and iPhone. The app features a clean, minimalist interface, which can help reduce distractions. Tools such as typewriter mode can also keep you focused on your words.
Additional features include a library to hold all your writing, the ability to save documents in different formats, and full iCloud synchronization. Ulysses costs $5.99 a month, or $49.99 a year. Student discounts and a free trial are available.
Scrivener
Scrivener is a word-processing program with useful features for writers of longform content. You can use Scrivener to create outlines, break a long manuscript up into sections, and draft sections in any order. You can also save your research in Scrivener and pull it up alongside your manuscript as you work.
Scrivener is available for macOS, Windows, and iOS. A standard license costs $49, with discounts available for students and academics. You can try Scrivener free for 30 days.
OmmWriter
If you struggle with distractions while writing, OmmWriter could help. The latest version of this immersive writing tool features backgrounds and ambient sounds inspired by nature. Users can also choose instrumental audio tracks and backgrounds informed by color theory, which foster a sense of tranquility.
OmmWriter offers two experience tests to let you try out the software before buying. Purchasers of OmmWriter can set their own price.
Freedom
Freedom isn’t a writing tool per se, but it may help you write more. This website and app blocker is designed to safeguard you from distractions. Freedom lets you block a handful of sites, most sites, or all sites and apps for a specific duration. You can use Freedom on a set schedule or start a session whenever you choose.
Freedom is compatible with several different operating systems and can be synced across devices. A premium subscription costs $2.42 a month if you sign up for one year, and a free trial is available.
StayFocusd
Price: Free
StayFocusd is an add-on extension that helps you to…well, stay focused. Although it might not directly affect your writing skills, it may very well help you get your paper completed on-time.
This extension increases your productivity by limiting the amount of time that you can spend on time-wasting sites. Once you’ve wasted your allotted amount of time, those sites are blocked, so you are forced to get back to work and get your writing done.
Reedsy Book Editor
With Reedsy’s book editing tool, authors can write, typeset, and prepare their manuscripts for both print and e-book publication. Reedsy claims to be the first free formatting tool that allows authors to export files compatible with several different e-book and print-on-demand services.
Reedsy Book Editor is available for all Reedsy members to use. To start, set up a free account and navigate to “My Books.” There, you can create a book and begin writing.
Draft
Draft is a piece of writing, version control, and collaboration software. With Draft, you can save multiple versions of your work and easily compare them to see how your manuscript has changed over time.
Draft also helps co-authors and editors work together. When someone makes an edit in a shared document, Draft creates a new copy, making it easy to review, accept, or reject changes.
Draft features a host of additional features, including audio/video transcription, a presentation tool, and auto-simplification, which detects and deletes superfluous sentences to sharpen your prose.
Hemingway
The Hemingway app makes your writing more concise. If you write a wordy sentence, the app highlights it in yellow or red. Hemingway also identifies instances of passive voice and adverbs that may weaken your writing. If you’re prone to using big words, Hemingway will suggest shorter, simpler alternatives.
While you can use Hemingway’s web platform for free, a desktop app is available for both Mac and PC for $19.99.
Grammark
Grammark is a free, open-source writing tool that identifies passive voice, wordiness, and lengthy sentences. Too few transitions can make your writing hard to follow, so it lets you know when your text is short on transition words, such as “despite” and “however.” Grammark also checks your prose for casual language and grammar errors.
Grammark works best for academic writing. Unlike some other online grammar tools, Grammark doesn’t flag sentence fragments, comma splices, or apostrophe errors.
Hemingway Editor
Without a doubt, the Hemingway app is one of the best free online writing tools and should be your first choice.
It is not a grammar checker, but it does three things exceptionally well.
Once you paste in your text, the app will check it for passive voice use, unnecessary adverbs, and hard-to-read sentences.
These are three vital areas of your sentence structure. It is where you can improve the clarity and ease of reading in your writing.
You can read our review of the Hemingway Editor for more details.
Conclusion
There are dozens of sites that provide, writing tools for students. In this article the author lists the best ones. The ones I find most interesting are those related to blogging and collaborative writing.