5 Grammarly Settings That Will Make Your English Writing More Natural

Reviewed and verified by FeiYueh · Last verified 2026-10-15

Most people install Grammarly just for spell-checking. This article reveals the 5 most important advanced settings that transform Grammarly from a spell checker

You Might Be Using Only 20% of Grammarly's Features Grammarly is an English writing tool used by more than 30 million people worldwide, yet most users only scratch the surface with its spelling and grammar correction. In reality, Grammarly's most valuable features help you understand the "style" and "tone" of English, so your writing sounds like it was written by a native speaker rather than coming across as stiff and "translated." Setting 1: Writing Goals (Goals) This is Grammarly's most overlooked yet most impactful setting. After opening any document in the Grammarly editor, click the "Goals" button to set the following: Audience : "General" vs. "Expert" — reporting to technical experts calls for different language Formality : "Informal" vs. "Formal" — an email to your boss and one to a friend call for different tones Domain : "Business," "Academic," "Technical," "Creative" — each field has its own writing conventions Intent : "Inform," "Convince," "Describe," "Tell a story" — the logic behind persuasive copy for clients is completely different from that of documentation When you set goals to match each document, the quality of Grammarly's suggestions improves dramatically, instead of offering one-size-fits-all generic edits. Setting 2: Personal Dictionary If your industry uses specialized terminology, or you often use brand names and proper nouns Grammarly doesn't recognize, adding them to your personal dictionary stops Grammarly from repeatedly flagging them as "errors." Just right-click the flagged word and select "Add to Dictionary." This small step keeps your workflow from being interrupted by irrelevant suggestions. Setting 3: Language Preference (American vs British English) Do you write in American English or British English? The two differ in many spellings: color/colour, organize/organise, center/centre. Check your Grammarly settings to make sure you've selected the right version, so correct British spellings aren't mistakenly flagged as errors. Busines

Reviewed and verified by FeiYueh · Last verified 2026-10-15. Independently maintained — not AI-generated boilerplate.