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The Top AI Writing Tools to Help You Become a Better Writer in College

Holland Webb

Contributing Writer

Learn about our editorial process .

Updated August 9, 2024 · 4 Min Read

Mackenzie Caporale

Contributing Editor

Reviewed by

Marley Rose

Contributing Reviewer

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Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are revolutionizing the higher learning landscape, saving students' time and potentially boosting their grades. However, this trend is accompanied by contentious debates. Is it ethical for students to use AI tools to complete writing assignments?

While AI's defenders highlight the efficiency and personalized assistance its tools offer, critics raise concerns about overreliance, potential plagiarism, and the erosion of critical thinking skills.

In a BestColleges survey , 51% of college students say using AI tools on schoolwork is plagiarism or cheating, but about 20% use them anyway.

If you're one of the students using AI to write essays, or you plan to rely on an AI tool, consider the ethics of your choice before you begin.

The Ethics of College Students Using AI

Critics argue that AI may compromise academic integrity by fostering a dependency on machine-generated content. There's also an argument that AI essay writing leads to diminished original thinking.

Over time the line between assistance and plagiarism could start to blur, as students rely excessively on AI tools without proper understanding of the subject they are studying.

Colleges are addressing this question by emphasizing responsible AI use. Some institutions encourage faculty members to create assignments that AI cannot perform well, while others offer coursework on how to use generative AI tools to augment human creativity .

If you want to use AI writing tools ethically — to support rather than supplant your learning — consider the 10 options below.

Popular Online Programs

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

Best Free AI Essay Writing Tools to Help You Become a Better Writer in College

The AI-powered tools listed below each assist students who want to improve their writing skills without committing plagiarism. Each of these tools is either free or offers a limited free version of their product.

Grammarly uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze written text for context, tone, style, and grammatical correctness. The product's parent company says it influences the writing of 30 million people and 50,000 teams every day across the English-speaking population.

Grammarly offers a free version, a paid Premium option with 400 checks and features, and a business solution. These products can assist with traditional documents and emails, and can interface with other apps such as Slack and Skype.

Hemingway Editor

Named for author Earnest Hemingway, this app can help tighten prose, eliminate unnecessary modifiers, and simplify verbiage — ahem, using smaller words.

To get editing help, copy your work, paste it into the application, and watch the tool highlight areas for improvement according to a color-coded legend. For example, a blue highlight indicates an adverb, while a green highlight indicates the passive voice.

The Hemingway app also scores your writing's readability. You can see the score moving in the appropriate direction as you edit your work.

Citation Machine

This tool can create new citations or help improve a bibliography you've already developed. You can either check your paper for grammatical errors or use Citation Machine as an AI-powered plagiarism checker.

When using the citation function, enter information about the website, article, journal, or book you wish to cite, choose the style you need the citation in, and wait for the tool to generate your source in the appropriate format.

Readable helps writers improve their work by scoring it for readability. The tool uses various scoring metrics, including Flesch-Kincaid, to determine scores. Readable can also give you actionable editorial feedback. You can choose the free version or one of three paid options ranging from $4 to $69 monthly.

An AI-powered summarizer, Scholarcy simplifies and condenses articles, breaking them down into bite-sized ideas. You can use the tool to sift through far more research papers than you could ever do on your own. Alternatively, you can run your own paper through Scholarcy, seeing how the tool summarizes each piece of your work to help keep your paper focused.

More than a grammar check, myEssai is an AI essay writing tool that gives you actionable feedback just like a teacher would. This tool can review essays, resumes, job descriptions, creative writing assignments, notes for a speech, or any other written piece. myEssai does not create new content. It only reviews content you have already written.

LanguagePro

Another essay-writing AI app, LanguagePro, helps you write faster, better, and more efficiently. This tool analyzes your writing style and makes suggestions for improving your word choices while also pointing out errors and typos.

People who speak English as a second language may also find LanguagePro helpful since it can translate content into more than 25 languages using a multilingual keyboard.

GPTionary is a free, smart thesaurus that suggests words or phrases after the user inputs a descriptive prompt.

For example, you might ask, "What is a word used to describe a feeling of great passion or intensity?" And GPTionary would reply with a suggested word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, trivia, and example sentences.

This tool is one way for students using AI to write essays without a hint of plagiarism or cheating. It can also benefit English language learners by providing new vocabulary words.

Eli5 is short for "explain like I'm five." This AI-powered tool is fueled by OpenAI, the same company that owns ChatGPT. It uses machine learning and large language models to simplify concepts, explaining complex ideas in basic terms that beginners can understand.

Students who want to learn more about artificial intelligence can benefit from this tool as can researchers in all fields.

ProWritingAid

When it comes to writing, ProWritingAid does it all. This tool improves sentence flow, checks grammar, analyzes sentence structure, and makes word-choice recommendations.

The free version offers 10 rephrases and a full array of checks on 500 words a day. Students who upgrade to the premium package get 20% off.

Frequently Asked Questions About AI Essay Writing Tools

How can i use this tool in a way that helps me learn.

Use these tools to augment your human creativity, not to replace it. AI writers do a fantastic job of generating ideas, offering research directions, checking grammar, and streamlining the writing process.

As you learn to form better queries for your AI tools , you will also discover how to make your writing tighter and more focused. Almost anything you do with AI beyond copy-and-paste jobs has the potential to teach you something.

Can Turnitin detect AI writing?

Yes, Turnitin has released an AI writing detection solution trained to evaluate text produced by GPT-3 and GPT-3 language models, including ChatGPT. Turnitin's solution cannot pinpoint machine-generated language with 100% accuracy, but it can generally determine if a human, a robot, or a combination of the two wrote the piece.

Do AI writing tools work well with different citation styles, such as APA or MLA?

The answer depends on the tool you use. Most AI writing tools can work seamlessly in whatever citation style you request. Solutions that focus on creating bibliographies and citations are especially well suited to shift to your preferred citation style.

How do AI writing tools compare to traditional grammar-checking software or writing tutors?

Traditional grammar-checking software scans human-written work for possible grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors. An in-person writing tutor makes suggestions and assists as you write your copy. AI writing tools such as ChatGPT actually generate written content for you based on your input.

Can AI writing tools help with language translation or writing a language in another language other than English?

Some AI writing tools can help with language translation, and some can write in languages other than English. Google Translate, DeepL, Alexa Translations, and Taia Translations are all examples of AI writing tools that can translate from one language to another.

Page last reviewed September 16, 2023.

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150 Best Writing Tools and Resources [2024 Edition]

I can almost hear you thinking:

The list with tools. Again. How many more articles like this do we need to decide on the best resources for writers? Or is it going to be a list of writing tools for students?

Whether you write essays, business articles, or books, you should bookmark this page. Here I’ve gathered all the best tools for writers by categories and needs. Now you can find them in one place and save time on searching.

• Inspiration and idea organization
• Writing apps for planning: titles, theses, outlines
• Distraction-free online writing tools
• Essay writing tools for students
• Business writing tools and resources
• Creative writing tools
• Book writing tools and resources
• Best writing tools for proofreading and editing
• Checking for plagiarism and quality
• Tools for writers to cite sources

Inspiration and Idea Organization

These apps will come in handy for everyone working with text content. They help take notes, organize thoughts, and brainstorm ideas for your future content. College students can use them to craft to-do lists for their academic assignments.

Writing Apps for Planning: Titles, Theses, Outlines

These tools are popular among bloggers and copywriters working with many articles daily. They help beginners plan tasks better. Feel free to use them for generating titles and outlines. If you’re at school or university, they help with research and essay writing.

Distraction-Free Online Writing Tools

Authors know how frustrating a writing process is when something disturbs you. These tools help overcome writer’s block, catch the muse by the tail, and write faster.

Essay Writing Tools for Students

College students often struggle with essay writing. No wonder: Too many rules to know and too many details to remember. These resources will assist with every step of academic paper creation.

Business Writing Tools and Resources

Whether you write emails, business essays in school, or business articles, check these resources. Here are glossaries, samples, and other handy information on business content creation.

Creative Writing Tools

These tools are great supplies for writers of creative content. They’ll help generate ideas, craft drafts, and write engaging assets for different audiences.

Book Writing Tools and Resources

Consider these apps and tools for creating characters and organizing book plots . They’ll help you remember the storytelling principles and overcome writer’s block. Some are book writing software to save your whole story in one place.

Best Writing Tools for Proofreading and Editing

Authors know the writing process isn’t over after a draft is ready. Now it’s time to revise and edit it. These tools are the best for proofreading your work and checking its grammar. If you don’t have resources for hiring a professional editor, the below list is your helping hand.

Checking for Plagiarism and Quality

These tools are the best plagiarism and readability checkers. They’ll help avoid duplications and polish your texts for better quality.

Tools for Writers to Cite Sources

For those crafting academic papers or nonfiction based on research, it’s critical to provide sources they used. These tools and resources will help to cite them right. (Practical for school or college students dealing with reference lists in essays round-the-clock.)

• What is the most used writing tool?

The most used writing tool is Google Docs. Authors outline and write drafts there, share docs with clients and editors, and save texts in a cloud. Grammarly is the most popular one for proofreading and editing your texts. And those willing to check their texts for originality use Duplichecker or PlagiarismCheck .

• What are the best AI writing tools?

For today, the best AI writing tools are Jasper, Copy AI, and Textero . Many content creators also use ChatGPT : It saves time on research and idea generation.

• Which Google Docs tool can help you find synonyms to improve your word choice?

There’s no separate tool to install for this feature but a built-in dictionary in Google Docs. Go to Tools > Dictionary to find synonyms or word definitions in your document. Or, you can press Ctrl + Shift + Y to see them.

• What are some apps that write essays for you?

School and college students make the most of AI tools for essay writing. They use ChatGPT, Copy AI, and Jasper . These tools are great for deciding on an essay topic idea, generating a thesis statement, or outlining your future essays. Such apps can also help with essay proofreading, and you can ask them for up-to-date information to use as evidence.

• What is the best book-writing software?

I would recommend Reedsy, Novel Factory, and yWriter . Each helps you develop characters, create narrative arcs, and organize story plots. For an all-in-one decision to write, publish, and distribute books, try Fast Pencil . Vellum can be your choice if you write business e-books and want to prepare them for publishing.

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189 Best Writing Tools And Resources Every Student Needs

This piece of content has been developed by IvyPanda's editorial team .

No AI was involved in the creation process; only qualified experts contributed.

The information, facts, and sources presented in the text have been carefully checked and verified.

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Have you ever struggled with your writing assignments? Essays, reports, term papers… There are so many various types of academic writing.

Now it’s time to throw out all those struggles because we’ve picked 198 writing tools and resources that will help you to enhance your studies.

Check them out now!

Academic Papers: Feel the Difference

• Choose Your Topic
• Research Your Topic
• Boost Your Creativity
• Ace Your Writing
• Check Grammar and Punctuation
• Say No to Plagiarism

Bonus: 29 Must-Have Apps for Every Student

What’s the difference between an essay and a research paper, a term paper and a critical academic paper?

Each type of academic assignment has a specific purpose and helps students develop their analytical and writing skills in unique ways.

Knowing the various types of academic writing is essential because each university and college has its own specific standards for assignments.

With the help of this chapter, you will understand the difference between the basic types of academic writing.

Let’s start our short overview:

The purpose of the essay as an academic paper is to defend an argument, state a personal opinion, or answer questions on a topic by providing supporting evidence.

Essays are the most popular type of academic writing. Depending on the purpose, there are many different types of essays: descriptive, critical, admission, personal, comparison, cause and effect, and so on.

Typically, an essay will be around one page in length or between 1,500 and 6,000 words.

Check out these resources to get a better understanding of which elements to use in your next essay:

• Essay Basics | SUNY Empire State College
• Basic Essay Format | Utah Valley University
• How To Write an Essay |Thought.Co
• The Basics of Effective Essay Writing | Education Corner

Research paper

A research paper is another type of academic writing. It is based on the author’s original research on a specific issue, as well as an analysis and interpretation of the research findings.

• Research Paper Basic Guidelines | Iowa State University
• Ten steps for writing research papers | American University
• Make your online research more effective [8 super hacks] | IvyPanda

Reaction or response paper

Sometime during your studies, you will surely be asked to write a response or reaction paper. These types of assignments are just what they sound like. You have to write down your thoughts and feelings related to an assigned text or film.

Review the following guidelines to use when reacting to text or film content:

• Writing Summary, Analysis, Response Papers | Owlcation
• Writing a Response or Reaction Paper | Hunter College
• 10 tips for writing a good reaction paper | Honest College
• Response Paper | Duke University

This type of academic assignment is written once a semester or term. Why do students need to write term papers?

The bottom line is…

By writing a research term paper, you’ll deepen your knowledge base of the course content, increase your proficiency level in that subject area, and sharpen your analytical, research, and writing skills:

• Term paper guidelines | College Of Social & Behavioral Science – The University of Utah
• Guideline for writing a term paper | Universität Freiburg
• Essays and Term Papers | College of Earth and Mineral Sciences PSU
• Term Papers Online: 99+ Sites for Your FREE Paper | IvyPanda

Book or movie review

During your career as a student, you may be assigned a book or movie review. A typical book review contains three essential parts:

• A short summary of the book
• Your critical assessment of the content
• A conclusion about the meaning or significance of the author’s argument

Typically, the length of a movie or book review is about 750 – 1,000 words.

• Writing Academic Book Reviews | USCLibraries
• Book Review Guidelines | Georgia Southwestern State University
• Book Reviews | GoodReads
• Movies and TV shows database | IMDB

Synthesis essay

When you’re instructed to write a synthesis essay, you should focus on comparison and contrast, division and classification. Synthesis essays can be both informational and persuasive. The main difference is in how you present your ideas and arguments.

Want more information? Just check out these guidelines:

• Help…I’ve Been Asked to Synthesize! | Bowling Green State University
• Synthesis Introduction |Lumen Learning

Annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources that includes short evaluations and descriptions of each source. Don’t forget to choose the right formatting style!

• Basics of Annotated Bibliographies | Walden University
• Information Literacy 101 – The Basics of Using the Salmon Library |  The University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Bibliography and Annotated Bibliography | Eastern Institute of Technology
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography: The Annotated Bibliography | Cornell University

Writing a Paper: Choose Your Topic

Choosing the right topic accounts for almost 50% of any assignment’s success. Nevertheless, selecting a subject can be a difficult task, even for an experienced researcher.

You may ask…

What should I do?

Here are three simple steps for finding good writing ideas:

• Within the content of the course, pick something that appeals to you.
• Analyze the chosen topic. Is it too broad? Don’t try to embrace a topic that’s too large.
• Check whether there are enough resources for your research topic.

This all may seem easy to say. But there are a few common mistakes you should avoid when choosing good research topics:

• Don’t select a tedious subject just because it seems simple to write about. When you’re bored with the issue you’ve chosen, you’re more likely to compose a dull, colorless assignment.
• Don’t choose too original of a topic. You may not find enough sources for your research.
• Don’t hesitate to ask your professor for advice on what subject to write about.

Here are more useful resources on choosing research topic ideas for your next writing assessment:

• Choosing and Narrowing a Topic to Write About (for Research Papers) | Sophia
• Choosing Research Paper Topics: Reading for Information | Write.com
• Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Choosing a Title | USC Libraries

If you still have no idea where to start, try the tools below:

• Essay Topic Generator
• IvyPanda Essay Idea Generator
• Ashford Thesis Generator
• Random Topic Generator

Writing a Paper: Research Your Topic

Well, you’ve picked your essay topic. What’s next?

Time to do some research.

First of all, don’t leave your assignment until the last minute, because you may need more time than you expected.

The second step to successful research is to understand your research question thoroughly. If you skip this essential step, you may end up taking the wrong direction with your research.

Third, clarify what you already know about the topic and identify any informational gaps. Doing this will help you narrow the research you need to do.

Fourth, while doing your research, don’t forget to take notes as you go along. Write only fragments that can help you answer the essay question. Research a range of perspectives on the chosen problem.

Here are some guides on how to gather the information for your paper:

• Strategies for Gathering Reliable Information | University of Minnesota
• 6 Tips to Finding Research Paper Sources that Set You Apart | StudyRight

Moreover, we believe that you’ll want to use the tools listed below:

• Google Scholar
• ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
• Microsoft Academic
• Wolfram Alpha
• iSEEK Education
• ResearchGate
• Hyper Articles en Ligne (HAL)
• MyScienceWork
• LazyScholar

Writing a Paper: Boost Your Creativity

First and foremost, what you need to do is overcome your writer’s block. Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t write even a single sentence?

Most writers share a fear of the blank page.

Think about the concept behind the assignment. You may want to begin with a brainstorming session. Take a look again at the notes you took while doing research. Check out some essay samples . Use a mind map to generate writing ideas and plan your future essay:

• 10 Ways to Use a Mind Map | SmartDraw
• 10 Longtime Brainstorming Techniques that Still Work | Inc.
• The Complete Guide on How to Mind Map for Beginners | IQMatrix
• Effective Brainstorming Techniques | Medium

You may also want to use these free writing tools for brainstorming:

• SpiderScribe
• Mind Maps | GoConqr
• WiseMapping
• Imagination Prompt Generator

Do you want even more creative writing tips? Just look through these guides and strategies:

• 13 Ways to Make Your Writing More Interesting to Read | Oxford Royale Academy
• 10 Tips on How to Write Without Distractions | WriteToDone
• Time Management: The Essay Writing | College Essay Advisors

Writing a Paper: Make a Draft

So, you’ve chosen your essay topic, created your mind map, and done thorough research.

What’s your next step?

Time to write the first draft.

Compose a draft assignment

Let’s take a closer look at the drafting process. A draft is simply a rough sketch of your writing assignment. Try to write it as fast as possible. This can prevent you from losing interest.

Here are some useful guides on writing your first draft:

• Creating a Rough Draft for a Research Paper | University of Minnesota
• Dos and don’ts of writing the first draft of your science paper | Elsevier
• Putting pen to paper: How to write a rough draft | Inklyo
• Essay Writing Basics: The Fast First Draft | My College Advice

You may ask: Are there any free writing tools to help with drafting?

Sure! Check out these apps:

• Write 2 Lite

While writing your draft, be sure to structure it!

Start with an outline

Make a list of 3 – 5 crucial essay points. Put them in a logical order. Then write 3 – 5 subpoints below each point. These subpoints should support the logic of the main point:

• Prewriting and Outlining | University of Maryland

If you wish to automate the outlining process, the tools below will come in handy:

• BubbleUp Essay Outline Generator
• Essay Generator
• Online Outliner
• Thesis Statement Generator

Your professor may ask you to include a summary of your assignment, or an abstract, with your research paper. An abstract is usually one paragraph of 300 words or less that introduces:

• The purpose of your research and the issues you investigated
• The basic structure of the essay
• Significant trends or findings from your research
• A summary of your conclusions

Here are few useful guides and tools to help you write an abstract:

• How to Write an APA Abstract | Verywell mind
• How to write a scientific abstract in six easy steps | Serendipity

Do you need an online summarizer? Pick it up from the list below:

• Automatic Text Summarizer
• Summary Generator
• Tools4Noobs Summarizer
• SummarizeThis

Introduction

Consider the introduction to be a plan that must answer the following questions:

• What was my research about?
• Why did I choose to investigate this topic?
• What did we already know about this issue before I conducted my research?
• How will my research boost new points of view or new knowledge?

For more advice, check out these academic writing sources:

• How to Write an Introduction | Explorable
• 10 tips for writing an effective introduction to original research papers | ThinkScience
• How to Write an Effective Introduction for a College Research Paper | Pen and The Pad

Writing the body for an essay is often one of the most complicated parts of the assignment.

What should you do?

First of all, look back at your outline. You may use it as a guide. When writing the body of your essay, you should not only expand your opening statement but also dive into the research methods you used and give answers to the questions you examined.

Look through the guides below to ace your essay body writing:

• How to write a good paragraph | TU Eindhoven
• The Secrets to Good Paragraph Writing | Time4Writing
• Strong Body Paragraphs | University of Washington
• ICE: Introduce, Cite, and Explain Your Evidence | Penn State Abington

Now you’ve come to the last (but not the easiest) part of your assignment.

When writing an essay conclusion, you should not merely summarize the main topics covered, but also synthesize the key findings of your research and recommend new ideas for future investigation of selected issues:

• Essay Conclusions | UMUC
• Introductions and Conclusions | University of Toronto

Do you want more tips and hints on academic writing?

Just keep reading!

Try to avoid passive voice

Using the passive voice makes your academic writing assignment sound indefinite and less direct. This may cause the paper to lose the reader’s attention.

There are a few situations where the passive voice in writing may be appropriate:

• Using the active and passive voice in research writing | Editage
• When To Use The Active Voice | College of Earth and Mineral Sciences PSU

If you decide to wipe out the passive voice from your writing, use one of the tools below:

• Analyze My Writing
• Passive Voice Detector
• “To Be” Verbs Analyzer
• Passive Voice Checker
• Expresso App

Eliminate clichés

Clichés are a part of our daily life—that’s why they’re clichés! But when you are writing an academic assignment, you’d better avoid using them.

It’s simple. Clichés can irritate people and make you seem like a lazy writer who lacks careful thought. So it’s better for you to learn how to avoid writing cliches:

• What is cliché? Cliché examples (and how to avoid) | Now Novel
• 5 College Essay Clichés You Should Avoid | Stanford University

If you want to quickly find a cliché in your writing, check these services:

• Cliche Finder
• Cliche Finder – S. Morgan Friedman’s
• Cliché Finder | Writerly Words
• Pro Cliche Finder

Use metaphors and similes correctly

Similes and metaphors are similar, but they’re not the same figures of speech.

Metaphors equate things for a descriptive purpose, while similes compare something to something else using the words like and as.

Browse through these guides to learn how to improve writing using good similes and metaphors:

• How to Use Effective Metaphors in an Essay | BookRags
• Using Metaphors When Writing A College Essay | CollegeLax
• 100 Metaphor Examples | EreadingWorksheets
• How to Spice Up Your Writing With Similes and Metaphors | HobbyLark

Keep sentences short

Using sentences that are too long in academic papers may decrease the quality of your writing. The logical flow will be disrupted.

At the same time, however, using too short sentences might sound like you can’t link words correctly or have a poor language level.

Learn more about sentence length here:

• Editing Tip: Sentence Length | AJE
• Sentence Length | GrammarGirl

Good news! You don’t need to count each word in your writing. Just use the tools from our list below:

• Word Count Tool
• Count Wordsworth
• WordCounter
• Word Counter

Write clearly

To write precisely, you should cut out unnecessary words and create strong mental pictures.

Discover how to write concisely and clearly:

• 8 Steps to More Concise Writing | Daily Writing Tips
• Writing Concisely | UNC Writing Center
• Writing clearly and concisely | The University of Arizona

Avoid overused words

In academic writing, it’s crucial to avoid overly vague, exaggerated, informal, subjective, generally incorrect, and unnecessary words and phrases.

Below are some lists of words that you should cut out from your essay:

• 18 Overused Words to Replace When Writing | Oxford Tutoring
• Overused and Tired Words | ThoughtCo
• 44 Overused Words & Phrases To Be Aware Of (Infographic) | GrammarCheck

You can use web apps below to replace overused words in your essay:

• PowerThesaurus
• ProWritingAid

Use abbreviations properly

Abbreviations are shortened words or phrases, and they come in many forms: initials and acronyms, Latin abbreviations, titles, measurements, dates, and so on.

These guides will help you figure out how and when you should use them in your assignment:

• Grammar: Abbreviations and Acronyms | GCFLearnFree
• When is it appropriate to use abbreviations? | APA Style

Writing a Paper: Check Grammar and Punctuation

When you have a lot of classes to attend, tests to prepare for, and papers to write, it’s no wonder that foolish grammar mistakes can easily slip into your assignment.

When using grammar checkers, you should keep in mind these simple tips and hints:

• Most grammar checkers are useful for finding subject/verb issues and reducing the passive voice but are extremely poor at recognizing the proper use of articles.
• Use a grammar checker to detect your typing errors, such as an unintentionally repeated word, an unnecessary space before a comma, a sentence with no end punctuation, etc.
• Don’t eliminate a manual check of your assignment. You can ask your friend to conduct a grammar check of your essay or ask IvyPanda’s Academic Experts for proofreading.

You may also want to try these free grammar tools for writing:

• SpellCheckPlus
• GrammarCheckForSentence
• Ginger Grammar Checker
• GrammarLookup
• Punctuation Check
• Hemingway Editor
• Sentence Checker
• After the Deadline
• LanguageTool
• Virtual Writing Tutor

Writing a Paper: Say No to Plagiarism

And the last but not the least thing that scares most students is the risk of being involved with plagiarism.

How can you avoid this?

Try these simple ways:

• Paraphrase original texts using your own words.
• Put quotes into your paper.
• Summarize the original document or book.

Bottom line?

Don’t forget that any borrowed material must have a proper citation. Be sure that you present any relevant features of other authors’ publications in your own words.

In terms of which citations styles to use, it usually depends on the discipline involved. For example:

• Modern Language Association (MLA) style is usually used in the Humanities.
• Chicago style citation should be used when writing Fine Arts, History, or Business assignments.
• American Psychological Association (APA) style is applicable for Sciences, Psychology, and Education academic writing.

For properly cited sources, use these bibliography citation makers:

• Citation Generator
• Citation Builder | NC State University
• KnightCite | Calvin College
• Citation Machine™
• CiteThisForMe

Plagiarism is a quite critical ethical offense for a student. It is recognized as a violation of academic honesty principles. Because it’s so important, you should never forget to check your assignment for any uncited borrowings.

There are a lot of paid and free writing software that will check your assignment for plagiarism.

We are sure that you may want to try one of these online tools for students:

• DupliChecker
• Plagiarisma
• PlagiarismChecker
• PlagTracker

Do you want more online writing tools for students?

We’ve gathered a few of the best writing apps and tools that will come in handy for you and your friends:

• WorkFlowy . Shape your thoughts by creating structured plans and outlines for your academic assignments.
• CheckVist . This is another excellent tool for creating and sharing plans, checklists, and outlines.
• Etherpad . You can use this online writing editor to collaborate with your mates.
• EverNote . This is a great tool that every student needs. Take your notes and organize your daily schedule on any device.
• Google Docs. Google Docs is perhaps one of the most well-known online writing editors, allowing you to create, edit, and collaborate with others on documents.
• PDF Pro . Edit PDF files for free. The tool allows you to convert Word, Excel, PowerPoint to PDF, add text and images, etc.
• Dropbox. Use this app to store your files in one place, sync them across all devices, and share them with your friends.
• Animoto. Make exciting video presentations for your assignments.
• Piktochart. Imagine that you could create presentations in three simple steps. Use ready-made designs or produce your own. You can also use this tool to share your slides or infographic with your classmates.
• Canva . Perhaps, you’ve already heard about this app for graphics. Use it to create presentations, diagrams, or even posts for your social media!
• Tinkercad . This free online app would be helpful for everyone who would like to create 3D designs but doesn’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for professional software. Use it for your projects or even for 3D printing.
• Skitch . The service allows you to get your point across using annotations, sketches, and shapes. You can use it to save your sources of inspiration too.
• Pocket . Use the tool to organize your college reading list.
• Thesis Creator . Create your assignment’s main statement with just five clicks.
• Summarizer . Use this tool to create summaries, abstracts, and statements.
• Quillbot . This online application will help you to paraphrase your sentences.
• De-Jargonizer . Wipe out the jargon from your writing with this easy-to-use online service.
• OneLook Reverse Dictionary and Thesaurus . This is not a typical thesaurus software. You may type a phrase or even a sentence and get multiple suggestions.
• Merriam-Webster . The online version of the famous dictionary would help you t find the exact meaning of the word, synonyms, and antonyms.
• MacMillan Dictionary . Another great online dictionary to boost your writing.
• Todoist . How many times have you missed important deadlines? This tool will help you keep organized and manage your time.
• MyHomeWorkApp . Track your assignments and classes with this free application. The service is available on all popular platforms.
• ResqueTime . This app tracks the time you spend on various websites and tools and provides you with an accurate picture of your day. Use it to analyze and eliminate distractions.
• TomatoTimer . Try this free online service to stop procrastination using the Pomodoro technique. Set the timer for 25 minutes and take care of your writing without being distracted by other tasks.
• Cold Turkey . A multi-system app that will help you to get rid of distracting websites, track the time and applications, and provide advice on your schedule.
• ScanBot . You don’t need to buy a scanner anymore to scan your notes. The ScanBot is a free app for your smartphone that scans documents and uploads it to popular services like iCloud, Dropbox, etc.
• The Student Room . Perhaps, you might want to join this student community to discuss colleges, student jobs, exams, and get a piece of advice on your assignments.
• Quora . Here you can find a lot of answers and get advice from people all over the world.
• Mavis Beacon . If you need a tool to improve your keyboarding skills, check this link. A simple but effective software will help you to make your typing faster and more efficient.

Academic writing can be a complicated task for any student. But using the best writing apps and resources will definitely reduce your stress.

Do you have any favorite writing tools or resources that you use for your assignments? Share them with us in the comments below!

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Awesome list thanks. As an academic, I also use Writefull. It’s like Grammarly but specifically designed for academic writing!

Thank you for the feedback!

Thanks you! thank you!! thank you!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Searching for forward to reading far more from you afterwards!

We look forward to seeing you again. Thanks for stopping by!

When I’m writing, I tend to repeat myself. Hemingway doesn’t tag this kind of repetition. If anybody else has this problem, INK suggests that I change my sentences if they sound too much alike.

As a writer, I frequently scour the internet for helpful tips, clarifications, and editing assistance. Ms. McQuarrie’s article on writing tips for students covers a wide spectrum of topics and contains an extensive list of resources that are invaluable. I have bookmarked several to use myself.

Thank you for your kind words, Joan! I’m glad you enjoyed the article.

Thanks for sharing a great and lovely article. I hope you will share more articles for everyone here.

The Best Free Writing Tools For College

Whether you are a first-year college student or a final year college student, you have to write papers. We all know that writing is not always the easiest task, especially academic writing . But you can’t escape college papers. And you must write good papers to do well in college. So my best advice is to find some good tools that can help you ace your papers.

The good thing is that you live in an age in which digital technology keeps evolving. So there are so many online tools and apps that can help you write a great college essay . There are tools that can help you edit and proofread your essay and tools to help avoid plagiarism. You can even find tools to help you write different types of college papers. Some of these tools can evaluate your writing and give you very useful feedback to make improvements on your writing too.

These are the best writing tools for your college essay.

One of the most challenging things in writing a college essay is to organize your ideas. Coggle is a mind mapping tool that can help you to organize complex ideas. It even has a flow -chart feature that helps to outline processes and systems. Hence, this is a great tool for making presentations too.

This is an online tool that doesn’t require any downloading. And the cool thing about it is that you can share your work with your friends and work together at the same time. Hence, this tool is very effective for doing group work online.

How much does this tool cost? Well it’s free, for the most part. You will only need $5 or $8 a month if you want more advanced features. So it’s good for your budget.

One of the must-have writing tools that can help you do better college papers is Evernote. This is a great note taking tool that can help you to stay organized. 

You can access this app anywhere and anytime. Hence, you can record an idea or take a snapshot of something while doing anything. You don’t have to forget any important idea.

And the great thing is that it allows you to store, share and organize texts, photos and voice memos. No wonder this app received the 2018 Webby Award for productivity.

Evernote offers basic, premium and business plans. Hence, you can also use Evernote after college. The basic plan is free but the premium and business plans have monthly charges.

Plagiarism Checker

We all know that plagiarism is a big crime especially in college. Hence, you have to try your best to avoid getting zero on a paper. You could even be expelled from college or be sued for plagiarizing someone else’s work. And you sure don’t want to be rejected by a college because your application essay was not original.  So you definitely need this one.

PapersOwl provide essay writing services for college students. And they offer this free online plagiarism checker. It’s not always easy to know if you have plagiarized. So this tool can help you to be sure that your paper is free from plagiarism.

Using this simple online plagiarism checker is not complicated at all. All you need to do is paste your writing in the box provided. Then just wait for a report that tells you what percentage of your paper is similar to other sources. That can help you to rework your paper to make it more unique.

We all know how important it is for college students to stick to their budget. So this tool is completely free. Your pockets don’t have to feel the pinch.

Grammarly is a well known tool which is also available as an app. It is used to edit common grammar mistakes including spelling, punctuation and other grammatical errors. Additional features include checking writing style, sentence structure and vocabulary.

In this age of shorthand texting and with most of our conversations being informal, it is easy to make mistakes on college papers. Not to mention, that even after proofreading, it might be difficult to see your own  mistakes. So Grammarly is a great tool to help with proofreading.

This tool is free which is good for college students with a limited budget. And students can use Grammarly on social media, emails, documents and projects.

College professors expect their students to use higher level writing skills in their papers. This means that there should be a good blend of different sentence structures. Also students need to use a wider variety of vocabulary. Hence, the Editminion tool is quite useful to help students to refine their writing.

Editminion is a copy editor that allows you to paste your writing in a box and then click Edit to get feedback. This editor identify weak words and help you to replace adverbs with strong verbs.

It also helps you to limit the use of certain expressions that weaken your writing. For example, it identifies cliches and the wrong use of words. It also helps you to vary your sentences. Hence, it stops you from starting all your sentences the same way or using poorly structured sentences.

Bibme Citation Creator

One important rule in college is that you must cite your sources for your papers. This isn’t the easiest thing to do. Most colleges in the U.S. use the APA Citation style. However, this tool allows you to use a variety of citation styles. So in addition to the APA Citation Style, you can choose to use the MLA or the Chicago style. To save yourself the trouble of not properly citing your sources, get a citation tool.

This online tool allows you to check your paper for proper citations. All you need to do is to paste your paper in the proofreader box provided. This tool checks for unintentional plagiarism. Also, it helps you to add accurate citations and bibliography directly to your paper. So you no longer have to worry about not doing the citations right.

This basic features of this tool are free but you can pay $9.95 a month to receive unlimited services.

So you don’t have to be so worried about failing your college papers anymore. These are the best tools to help you write good college essays, exemplary even. You can use them to avoid the most common mistakes students make in their college essays .

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