Uncategorized

Improving my grammar

Reading Time: 2 mins

I used to be proud of my spelling, and to an extent, grammar as well. It’s better than at least half the people I interact with.

For example, I’m quite particular about punctuation. Space after the full-stop, not before; on either side of the dash, but not the hyphen; around braces and quotes, not within. With all this knowledge, I thought I was pretty good at this sort of thing.

Until I installed Grammarly.

I didn’t know that we have to write “7 am” instead of “7am”. For example, I often write “Thanks Naveen” instead of “Thanks, Naveen”. Extra commas, incorrect spacing, … the sheer number of errors that I spot today is a humbling experience.

“But at least my style of writing is very readable,” I wrote to myself. (And in the process, corrected the punctuation by placing the comma before the quote, not after.) My sentences are short. They have short paragraphs. My words are simple. And I use active voice more than passive.

That’s until I started blogging on blog.gramener.com, which has the Yoast SEO plugin that analyzes readability. In my last blog post, I discovered this:

Readability results from Yoast SEO

Consecutive sentences: I didn’t realize that I begin most of my sentences the same way. Yoast highlighted that I’m beginning most of them with “I”. (And here I was, proud of my humility.)

3 consecutive sentences starting with the same word

Transition words. I did realize that my statements are abrupt, and don’t directly flow from one to another. That’s partly intentional. But I didn’t know that I was violating a rule called “Transition words”, or even that this was a thing.

Example of not using a transitioning word. The second sentence could begin with “Instead, I should be doing…” for continuity.

Of all things that AI could teach me, I didn’t expect it to teach me grammar and humility. God bless the machines.

PS: I used Yoast SEO to reduce consecutive sentences. But I’m yet to change my style to handle transition words yet.

Anand S

Leave a Comment

View Comments

  • This was interesting to read Anand, didn’t know about the Yoast plugin. I enjoy using http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ — named aptly after Hemingway’s succinct writing style — which gives similar readability score in terms of which class/grade student would be able to read it. The grade metaphor makes it exciting to simplify your writing as much as you can!

Share
Published by
Anand S

Recent Posts

Supply Chain’s Industry 4.0 Moment

Industry 4.0 solutions originally had their genesis in manufacturing. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0,… Read More

1 day ago

8 Computer Vision Use cases to Scale Production Performance

Improvement in production performance can enhance supply chain efficacy. There is a continuous discourse around… Read More

1 day ago

Top 10 Generative AI Trends You Must Look Out For

Sshhhhhh, ChatGPT knows everything!! In 2023, Generative AI (GenAI) emerged as a major technology disruption… Read More

1 day ago

Navigating Challenges in the Integration of Generative AI in Healthcare

Generative AI holds immense promise for healthcare, leveraging large datasets to innovate medical imaging, treatment… Read More

1 day ago

Straive’s Naveen Gattu Honored at the NJBIZ Executive Excellence Awards 2025

NJBIZ has recognized Naveen Gattu, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Gramener—A Straive Company, as… Read More

7 months ago

This website uses cookies.