Earth To Microsoft: Improve It Or Lose It! (The Word Grammar Checker, That Is.)

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Microsoft Word Grammar Checker Are No Good, Scholar Conclude
By Brock Read

If you've ever used Microsoft Word, chances are you've seen that jagged green line appear beneath something you've written -- scolding you for drafting a fragmented sentence, maybe, or for slipping into the passive voice. That's Microsoft's grammar-checking technology at work.

But how much good does the grammar checker actually do? Precious little, according to Sandeep Krishnamurthy, an associate professor of marketing and e-commerce at the University of Washington. After experimenting with the tool, Mr. Krishnamurthy concluded that it cannot identify many basic grammatical faux pas -- like errors in capitalization, punctuation, and verb tense.

Now he has dedicated himself to chronicling the grammar checker's blind spots, and to persuading Microsoft to improve the tool.

On his Web site (http://faculty.washington.edu/sandeep/check), Mr. Krishnamurthy has posted evidence that he considers damning: a series of examples of poor grammar the software considers passable. One reads: "Marketing are bad for brand big and small. You Know What I am Saying? It is no wondering that advertisings are bad for company in America, Chicago and Germany."

Microsoft officials did not respond to calls for comment. But in a statement released in response to Mr. Krishnamurthy's Web site, the company argued that its grammar checker is a writing aid, not a catchall. "The Word grammar checker is designed to catch the kinds of errors that ordinary users make in normal writing situations," the statement said.

For above-average writers, the software might pick up a grammatical misstep or two, according to Mr. Krishnamurthy, but for subpar writers, the tool is useless.

Mr. Krishnamurthy says many of his students are not native English speakers and often struggle with the written word.

The grammar checker, he argues, impedes their efforts to improve their writing -- by telling them that misconjugated verbs and poorly structured sentences are perfectly fine.

The tool is so pernicious, he says, that Microsoft should either improve it or ditch it. Mr. Krishnamurthy recommends that the software more easily let users choose whether they want only basic guidance or significant editing help. The current software allows users to pick which types of grammatical errors they want identified, but Mr. Krishnamurthy says that system is too complicated for many beginning writers.

Some technical experts say that creating a better grammar checker would be a tall order, but Mr. Krishnamurthy says the program just needs to do a better job of telling writers how to use it. "I've heard some techies say, You're holding us to too high a standard," he says, "but I don't completely buy that."

Brock Read writes about Information Technology for The Chronicle.

Copyright © 2005 by The Chronicle of Higher Education