Ever asked Grammarly to help with your student essay, only to get it back sounding like a robot wrote it? You’re not alone. Many students love the app — but they also love to complain about it. And guess what? Reddit is full of stories where Grammarly edited the life right out of perfectly decent essays.

TLDR:

Grammarly isn’t perfect. It can sometimes turn creative or personal writing into dull, generic text. Many students on Reddit say it made their essays worse, not better. Fortunately, there are smart ways to use Grammarly without losing your voice.

Why Grammarly Feels So Helpful at First

Grammarly is like that super-smart friend who catches your typos and grammar mistakes fast. It fixes:

• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Overused words
• Sentence structure

For rushed students, Grammarly seems like magic. But the more you use it, the more you realize something weird — your essays start sounding the same. Boring. Cold. A little… off.

Reddit Complains Loudly — And Often

On Reddit, there’s a whole community of students venting their Grammarly struggles on r/grammar and r/college. Here are some real complaints:

• “Grammarly made my essay too formal. My professor said it lacked personality.”
• “After Grammarly edits, my voice disappears. It doesn’t sound like me anymore.”
• “It changed a powerful sentence into a bland one just because it didn’t like passive voice.”

These aren’t one-off grumbles. Many students feel like Grammarly turns authentic student writing into generic professor-pleasing robotspeak.

The ‘Formal Overkill’ Syndrome

Grammarly hates slang, contractions, and anything too casual. That makes sense for business emails. But some student essays — especially personal or narrative ones — need a little warmth.

One Redditor shared how their personal statement was “shredded by Grammarly.” It edited out every little bit of emotion they had poured in and replaced it with legal-document language.

The result? A flat, lifeless essay that sounded like it came from a committee, not a person.

Creativity Gets Muzzled

Another big problem: Grammarly doesn’t “get” creative flair.

• It flags metaphors as unclear.
• It rewrites poetic wording to sound “proper.”
• It scolds you for using fragments — even on purpose!

So when you’re trying to write an essay with style, Grammarly often shuts that down.

“Your Voice is Missing” – A Common Professor Complaint

Students on Reddit have mentioned getting feedback like:

“Your ideas are good, but this doesn’t sound like you.”

That’s because Grammarly loves rules. But writing isn’t just about rules. Great essays often bend (or break!) them. Professors want to hear your thoughts and your voice. If Grammarly scrubs too hard, all that personality is gone.

Where Grammarly Truly Struggles

There are certain types of writing where Grammarly’s suggestions can really backfire:

1. Personal essays: The edits feel too stiff.
2. Creative writing or fiction: Tone is often ruined.
3. Reflective assignments: It kills natural flow.

If you rely on Grammarly too much, especially for these types of assignments, you might lose that magic spark that makes writing *you*.

Smart Workarounds That Actually Work

Now here’s the good news — it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Plenty of savvy Redditors shared tricks to “game” Grammarly without losing their voice. Here are some of the best:

1. Use Grammarly Last, Not First

Write your full draft first without Grammarly on. Let your voice shine. Only after you’ve finished should you turn it on to catch basic grammar and spelling errors.

2. Be Selective With What You Accept

Don’t blindly click “accept” on every change. Read Grammarly’s suggestions and ask yourself:

• Does this still sound like me?
• Did I use that sentence structure for rhythm or effect?
• Is this suggestion actually improving my writing?

Sometimes, “wrong” can be *right* for style.

3. Turn Off Certain Features

Grammarly lets you choose your goals. Set your tone and formality levels to “casual” or “neutral,” not “formal.” That way, it will be less aggressive with style tweaks.

Also, go into settings and disable things like:

• Passive voice warnings
• Clarity rewrites
• Formality checker

The fewer red flags Grammarly throws at you, the fewer chances it has to flatten your writing.

4. Use Grammarly as a “Second Opinion,” Not a Boss

Don’t treat Grammarly like the final word. Treat it like advice from a chatty editor. You’re the writer. You make the final call.

What Do Teachers Really Think?

This is where it gets interesting. Many teachers *know* when a student uses Grammarly. Why? Because suddenly the writing sounds way too polished, but oddly empty.

Some professors even tell students: “Be careful not to let Grammarly take your voice away.”

One university writing instructor posted on Reddit that she gives extra credit to students who show original word choice and creativity — two things Grammarly often erases.

Grammarly Isn’t Evil — It Just Has Limits

Okay, we’ve been hard on Grammarly. But it’s not the enemy. It’s just a tool. In fact, when used correctly, it can still do a lot of good:

• It helps non-native English speakers a lot.
• It catches typos that your eyes miss.
• It’s useful for formal writing like cover letters or resumes.

You just have to remember: Grammarly is a machine. And machines don’t know your heart. Only you do.

Final Take: Your Voice Matters More Than AI

Here’s what all those Reddit complaints are really saying: Don’t trade your voice for correctness.

A perfect essay that sounds like it came from a textbook won’t impress anyone. But your voice, with its quirky style, your cadence, your thought process — that’s what stands out.

So next time Grammarly changes your “awesome” sentence to “adequately structured prose,” stop and think. Maybe it was better before.

Because at the end of the day, your essay should sound like… well, you.