how-to-use-grammarly-without-cheating
For years, Grammarly was just a fancy spell-checker. You wrote an essay, and it fixed your commas. It was safe, boring, and helpful.
But recently, Grammarly changed. It added "Generative AI" features that can rewrite entire paragraphs, change your tone, and even brainstorm ideas for you.
This creates a dangerous trap for students. One accidental click on "Improve this paragraph," and suddenly, the AI has replaced your words with its own. If you submit that, you aren't just proofreading; you are technically using unauthorized AI assistance.
Here is how to set up and use Grammarly so it acts as an editor, not a ghostwriter.
The Difference Between "Polishing" and "Patching"
To stay in the safe zone, you need to understand the two types of suggestions Grammarly gives.
1. The "Red" and "Blue" Underlines (Safe) These are the classic corrections.
Red: Spelling and strict grammar errors (e.g., their vs. there).
Blue: Clarity and conciseness (e.g., removing unnecessary words like "basically" or "very").
Verdict: Green Light. Accepting these is like having a teacher mark your paper with a red pen. It doesn't change what you said, just how you punctuated it.
2. The "Green" and "Purple" Pop-ups (Risky) These are the new AI features.
The Feature: Options like "Make it persuasive," "Rephrase for confidence," or "Rewrite this sentence."
The Risk: When you click these, the AI invents new vocabulary and sentence structures that you didn't think of. This removes your "voice" from the essay.
Verdict: Yellow Light. Only use these if you read the suggestion, reject it, and then rewrite the sentence yourself using the feedback. Never just click "Accept."
The "One-Click" Rule
The biggest mistake students make is "Accept All."
It is tempting to see 50 suggestions and click the button to fix them all instantly. Do not do this.
When you blindly accept changes, you are letting the algorithm make decisions for you. This often leads to awkward phrasing because the AI doesn't understand the full context of your argument.
The Rule: You must read every single suggestion. If you don't understand why Grammarly wants to change a comma, don't change it. If you can't explain the change to your teacher, you shouldn't make it.
How to Use the "Authorship" Feature (Your Safety Net)
One of the best new features for students is Grammarly Authorship.
Because so many students are accused of using AI, Grammarly created a tool that tracks your typing. It records which parts of the document were typed by a human, which were pasted from a database, and which were generated by AI.
How to use it:
Turn on the Grammarly Authorship feature before you start writing.
Write your essay.
At the end, it generates a report showing that you physically typed the document.
Include this report with your assignment as proof of your work.
This is the ultimate "receipt" to protect yourself from false accusations.
When to Turn It Off Completely
There are times when you should disable Grammarly entirely.
1. During Creative Writing If you are writing a poem or a narrative story, Grammarly is your enemy. It is trained on "business professional" English. It will try to "fix" your creative stylistic choices, making your story sound like a corporate email.
2. During Take-Home Exams If you are taking a remote exam on a locked browser, having the Grammarly extension active can sometimes trigger the exam software's "cheating detection" because it counts as a "third-party app" reading the screen. Always disable the extension before logging into an exam portal.
Conclusion
Grammarly is a powerful tool, but it is aggressive. It wants to make your writing "perfect," but teachers don't want perfect—they want yours.
Use it to catch the typos you missed, but defend your sentences. If Grammarly suggests a word you wouldn't use in a conversation, ignore it. Your grade depends on your ability to communicate, not your ability to click "Accept."
