When it comes to writing college admission essays, the story and quality of writing are of paramount importance. However, the grammar, punctuations, and spelling are also very critical. In today’s world of instant messaging, we might think that grammar, spelling, and punctuation are becoming unimportant. Be careful; don’t fall into that trap. In case of formal correspondence (such as between a student and a professor or in today’s business communication), it is critical not only to be clear and concise with what you are saying but, also to be grammatically correct in how to say it.
The major problem with poor grammar and spelling is the impression it creates for the reader of your document.
“Your grammar is a reflection of your image. Good or bad, you have made an impression. And like all impressions, you are in total control.” – Jeffrey Gitomer, American author & business trainer
Importance of Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling in College Admission Essays
Writing is a great soft skill that you need to develop early in your career while you are in school. As a student, you might write an essay either for your coursework or college application.
When you are applying for college admissions (undergrad or graduate school) the admission committee will put a lot of stress on evaluating your grammar in the essays.
Applying for college and applying for a job are both circumstances in which you want to put your best foot forward. In either case, grammatical errors may suggest certain carelessness on your part—unless you’re lucky enough for your mistakes to go unnoticed.
Common Grammatical Errors in College Essays
As per admissions officers at top colleges, spelling and grammatical errors are a great turn off. Here are the few common ones:
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Confusing its & it’s; your & you’re; or there, their & they’re
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Run on sentences & fragments
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Verb/noun agreement and verb tense
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Singular articles before plural nouns like “an alumni”
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Misusing “me” and “I”
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Split infinitives
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Ending a sentence with a preposition
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Missing apostrophes
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Incorrect use of semicolons (Tip: If you’re not sure about semicolons, avoid them altogether.)
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Overuse of contractions
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Poor use of the word “got” or “get” (Tip: Don’t write “get” when you mean “understand”.)
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Too many exclamation points
Importance of Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling in Business Communication
In the professional world, grammar and spelling can differentiate between an excellent performer and a mediocre employee.
In this media-driven age, written business communications can take many shapes and forms; from the humble memo, letter or fax to a tender, proposal, application or report; not forgetting emails, websites, blogging, and other social media communications. Your company’s written documents may include marketing materials, responses to customer inquiries, reports to clients and other stakeholders. The list is endless.
AI-Powered Grammar Software
There are several ways of writing an essay without grammatical and spelling mistakes. One of the popular ways is using Grammar Software.
Of course, there is the Auto-Spell checker of Microsoft Word. But, that’s not effective with proof-reading and correcting grammatical mistakes.
The Microsoft Word online grammar checker found most of my errors, but it missed a few grammar mistakes, including a missing word in a sentence.
Finally, Grammar Software can also correct contextual errors. For instance, the auto-spell check can distinguish between weather and whether, or between wondering and wandering.
There is quite a few good software available in the market. In this post, we will focus on how EnglishHelper can help you with your college essays.
How EnglishHelper Helps You with College Admission Essays
Q&A with Emil Kuruvilla, VP, EnglishHelper (US & Latin America)
What is EnglishHelper?
EnglishHelper is a for-profit social enterprise that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to address various types of learning objectives, including writing and reading & comprehension in English. It was started in 2009 by Venkat Srinivasan, who is a successful serial entrepreneur and an AI-expert. In 2019, EnglishHelper will reach 20 million users across the globe.
Who can use EnglishHelper?
Anyone who writes emails, essays, cover letter, proposals, or other types of writing materials should use WritingAssistant, but here are a few key audiences:
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Current Students (high school, college, graduate, PhD)
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Applicants for College / Graduate School (can use it to correct and enhance essays, letter of recommendations, etc.)
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Teachers/Instructors/Professors (it’s currently being used in the US by college instructors)
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Employees at any company (for emails, proposals, etc.)
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Job Seekers (for resume and cover letters)
How does EnglishHelper work?
EnglishHelper will automatically run a scan on your essay and show you the critical errors and minor errors that it discovers so that you can fix them.
Some of the errors it finds will have to do with punctuation; others may involve capital letters, the use of phrasing, spelling, or grammar rules. All of these are important when you are writing professionally or writing a college admission essay or SoP.
Writing-Assistant Tool
WritingAssistant is the most powerful online writing improvement tool in the world. With a comprehensive linguistics engine and a patented proprietary technology, this advanced writing analyzer uses AI technology to flag errors, offer suggestions, and learn from every text it encounters.
What makes it stand out from all of the online writing improvement tools on the market is that it offers assistance on the quality of one’s writing. This product can be used in a web application; soon, it will be available as a plugin on Microsoft Word and Outlook, as well as an extension on Google Chrome.
WritingAssistant has two levels:
– Level 1: provides an instant analysis of grammatical and syntactical errors
– Level 2: offers assistance on the quality of writing including coherence metrics
Key People behind the Scenes
Venkat Srinivasan (Founder & Chair)
Dr. Venkat Srinivasan is a serial entrepreneur and has successfully built several knowledge-based technology businesses including eCredit, Corporate Fundamentals and recently Rage Frameworks.
Apart from EnglishHelper, Venkat has also founded KnowYourMeds and AIinGov all of which are double bottom-line enterprises leveraging AI-driven intelligent automation focused on education, health, and the public sector, respectively.
Venkat is an expert in knowledge-based systems architectures, artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, natural language processing, corporate finance, and accounting. He has published his research extensively in prestigious academic journals and holds several patents related to flexible technology architectures and natural language processing.
His book titled, The Intelligent Enterprise in the Era of Big Data was published by Wiley in 2016 and he is the author of a forthcoming book titled, The Rise of Intelligent Machines, also to be published by Wiley.
Sanjay Gupta (Global CEO)
Sanjay Gupta is a seasoned business leader. He commenced his professional journey in Finance in 1984 working across a range of reputed companies in India including the Tata Group, Eicher–Mitsubishi, Pepsico, and Motorola.
Sanjay joined American Express in 1996 and held a number of business leadership roles based in New Delhi, New York, and Singapore. During this time, he was responsible for consolidating and restructuring the company’s global financial operations and leading Customer Service for markets outside the USA and was the chairperson of company operations in India.
Sanjay is committed to the need for education to achieve a democratic vision. He writes a blog column for The Economic Times, a leading business daily in India. In addition, Sanjay is engaged with the cause of children and youth as an active advisor/board member at Udayan Care and School of Inspired Leadership. Sanjay is also a teacher and coach. He is guest faculty at Duke University’s Executive Education Program and delivers programs on doing business across cultures, customer engagement, brand, and leadership during the change.
USP and Advantages of EnglishHelper
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WritingAssistant is found to be 3 times more accurate than any other grammar software on the market
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It stands out from other writing improvement tools by offering assistance on the quality of one’s writing. For example, if one is writing an essay, it can break down how well the essay flows, how fragmented it is, etc.
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WritingAssistant not only helps improve your writing but to improve the world. Every time a WritingAssistant user upgrades to a premium subscription, we will use part of the revenue to give 5 children access to RightToRead, helping them to improve their reading skills, so that they have a shot at a brighter future.
RightToRead
RightToRead is a sophisticated, AI-powered technology solution for improving reading and comprehension in English. The comprehensive, easy-to-use platform enables an immersive experience for listening, speaking, reading and understanding in English. All types of content are supported, and learners progress through the multi-sensory experience at their own pace, improving retention and engaging in learning.
Note: This is a Sponsored Post by EnglishHelper.