There are so many pieces of software out there geared towards enhancing your writing skills. This has gone far beyond the simple spelling and grammar checking that older word processors used to provide.

Software like Grammarly, WhiteSmoke, Ginger, and even Microsoft Word are all doing the best they can to help others with their writing, specifically in English. CorrectEnglish, from Vantage Labs, is one such writing enhancement tool. One that is more than just a glorified word processor. It is a tool which can seriously upgrade your command of the written word, in a way which will help you succeed and write with confidence.

The Importance of Writing Properly

English is vital.

This brings us to the all-important question, is writing properly actually that important? There are so many products available which will automatically spell anything I want, anytime I want. It is almost as if we no longer need to advance our writing, because there are algorithms out there to do it for us. Well, sure, you could claim that, but it is my contention that you would be wrong. More so, I feel such statements kind of miss the point of proper written communication.

Put very plainly, the whole idea behind writing is being able to convey thoughts, ideas, and messages in a way which can be understood and followed. There are programs out there (StyleWriter comes to mind) whose whole approach to software design stems from that single idea: helping you write things as clearly as possible.

Being able to write and communicate clearly – and specifically in English – is an essential skill for many people, all over the world. It is a reflection of your status and reputation in some cases. Whether you are a student, a professional writer, a businessman, or an average joe who wants to improve his English – CorrectEnglish can help you master any challenge and succeed in any written task.

Vantage Labs Product Overview

Vintage Labs Logo

Vantage Labs have been around for over 25 years. Established in 1991, it has been a leader in many fields – including artificial intelligence and linguistics, done with its Vantage Learning branch.

The company’s products are split into several categories. This is a partial list of its available software,

Learning and Education

• CorrectSpell – used by 2.2 billion people, it is considered one of the best and most popular spellcheckers around.
• ProofReader – a multi-modal grammar checker for desktop and mobile.
• CorrectVue – an AI tool to organize and analyze writing on any subject.

Big Data Cognitive Computing

• iSeek.ai – interpret structured and unstructured data within any media to facilitate bot building.
• TrekOnward – a college search tool for students.
• SmartSpend – financial resource and financial data tool.

Communication and Collaboration

• MaxVoice – a voice over PC solution.
• MaxCustomerConnect – unified voice, email, and text platform.
• Vantage Customer Relationship Management – a way to maintain a full view of customers and campaigns.

Natural Language Understanding

• IntelliMetric – essay scoring technology.
• Adaptera – an adaptive learning environment.
• RubyWrite – a cloud-based essay capture tool.

Vantage has many other products, and they all fall under one of those categories. Vantage is still going strong, and is releasing new products every year.

Key Features of CorrectEnglish

CorrectEnglish Features

As for Vantage’s CorrectEnglish software, I was impressed. I have worked with many different pieces of writing software, and Vantage’s is one of the more accurate and user-friendly ones. Is it perfect? No. No grammar checker ever is, no matter what their site says. But, CorrectEnglish does provide a pretty comprehensive package of features, including:

• Proofreading – it checks your text against over 6000 spelling, grammar, and usage laws. That is a powerful algorithm. It requires a constant internet connection, in order for the cloud-based databases to be reached. This could be a drawback for some.
• Support for non-native English writers – attempting to learn from your mistakes, in the very same language which you are failing in, can be kind of counterproductive. CorrectEnglish offers feedback in French, German, Spanish, Korean, and even Chinese.
• Writing evaluation – artificial intelligence is used to score your text immediately, so you know where you stand on focus, content, and use of language within a specific task or genre of writing.
• CiteSmart – a plagiarism detector which checks the originality of your text against billions of documents.

CorrectEnglish Review 2017

CorrectEnglish2017

I had not used CorrectEnglish prior to this review. I downloaded it specifically so that I can give you my view on it. As such, this may not be a particularly in-depth review, but these are my impressions of the software nonetheless. Firstly, I don’t feel like the internet-connection requirement is a downside. I am used to programs needing a steady online connection, so it is no surprise to me that a cloud-based service such as CorrectEnglish is also a part of that. Think of it this way – the full license allows you to create an account and use CorrectEnglish on multiple computers.

Second of all: CorrectEnglish is definitely geared towards the education field. It is meant for students, perhaps more than anyone else. Or so it appears to me, anyway. This is not to say that it won’t be good for those who are in a non-academic environment, but it is certainly leaning towards that milieu, from what I have seen.

As for the actual grammar and spell checking: it is more than satisfactory. It is certainly on par with other high-quality writing programs, and it catches many errors. Again – it is not perfect, and never will be, but it gets pretty close.

CorrectEnglish provides the user with tools to edit and publish text. It is accurate, easy to use, and it has a task-specific option. There is also a translator included, but it is not meant for translating large bodies of text. There are better ones out there. There is a dictionary and thesaurus, and several useful templates for getting a quick start on whatever task is at hand.

The program’s design is tight, and the addition of an originality detector is a neat little bonus, especially for those who are using this software for school. The price for a full license is $120. A renewal will set you back $20, and a trial version (30 days) is $9.99.

CorrectEnglish vs. Grammarly vs. Whitesmoke

Grammarly, Whitesmoke

Obviously, the comparison to other writing-enhancers is very much called for. Grammarly and WhiteSmoke are two of the best writing programs around, and I have had extensive experience with both of them. Compared to those two, CorrectEnglish seems to hold its own. I won’t be ranking these programs, since there is no point. The best thing to do is to try them, and see which of the three best fits your needs.

As far as accuracy is concerned, three of them are pretty much spot on. They all have very powerful algorithms working behind the scenes, and they possess the ability to check thousands of words in seconds, and provide appropriate suggestions.

• Microsoft Word compatibility – three of them are able to be integrated into Word, amond other word processors.
• Webpage integration – CorrectEnglish does not work with webpages, as a standalone product. This was a downside for me, and is also goes to illustrate my point about CorrectEnglish being geared more towards the different fields of eduction and academia.
• Interface – WhiteSmoke and CorrectEnglish have their own interface, while Grammarly’s main interface is online. However, Grammarly does have an add-on available for Word and Outlook.
  Three out of three possess a dictionary, a thesaurus, document templates, tutorials on using the software or platform to improve one’s writing, and Grammarly lacks a translator – an option which the other two have.

• Operating systems – Grammarly and WhiteSmoke support Mac and OS, but CorrectEnglish is only available for Windows at this time.
• Price – all three of these programs are available in a kind of trial or evaluation version. As for the price of the complete package, they vary. Grammarly and WhiteSmoke, for instance, have monthly, quarterly, and annual plans. WhiteSmoke has a one-time purchase fee as well. Grammarly and WhiteSmoke are also available as a mobile app. CorrectEnglish has a flatrate of $120 per year, with a $20 renewal fee, as mentioned earlier.

Special subscriptions for students, academic establishments, and campuses are also available, so it is best to do your research and see which option is the best one for you.

Conclusion

CorrectEnglish is a great way to say what you want to say, clearly and concisely. It is a way for you to guarantee your text is free of grammatical errors and typos, and a way for it to look good, sound good, and achieve a higher rate of readability. Get the trial version and see what it is about. No matter what kind of writer you are, you’d be surprised at what a small piece of software such as CorrectEnglish could do for you and your future.

Learn about WordPerfect and Writer’s Workbench here at EduMuch!