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QUALITY ASSURANCE PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION

Mackenzie Stambaugh

Hina Surahio

Olivia Thirion

Vivian Toh

Mujtaba Ullah

Professor Mea Ahlberg

The University of Texas at Dallas

April 2020
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Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………...………………...3

Explanation of test/trials…………………………………………………………..……………....3

Positives and Negatives of the product……………………………………………...…………….5

Comparisons with other similar softwares………………………………………...………………5

Summary of results/comparisons……………………………………………………………...…..6

Purchase Recommendation……………………………………………………………………....10

References………………………………………………………………………………………..11

List of Figures
Figure 1…………………………………………………………………………………………....4
Figure 2……………………………………………………………………………………………7
Figure 3…………………………………………………………………………………………....8
Figure 4………………………………………………………………………………………........8
Figure 5…………………………………………………………………………………………....8
Figure 6…………………………………………………………………………………………....9

List of Tables

Table
1……………………………………………………………………………………………..6
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Introduction

Educational institutions generally provide various software programs that assist students
with their studies. Investments in new software can be very expensive. Educational institutions
are regularly looking for programs that are cheaper and more efficient. An educational institution
is having some students, also known as the “end-users”, test out a new software called Correct
English. It is a writing tool that helps users check for different types of writing errors, such as
subject/verb agreement check, spelling check, punctuation check, plagiarism detection, grammar
check, formatting, style, wordiness, and provides editing suggestions. It also provides statistical
feedback on the text, based on focus, content, style, and organization.

Dr. Radi, faculty member at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia, states that
students in this current generation, known as the net-generation use informal jargons in their day
to day communication, but they are privileged to have softwares that can help them write and
present their assignments using classic English instead of the ones they have formed. These
students thus rely on a variety of grammar checkers (p. 1, 2015). Though she mentions this
generation, almost everyone relies on grammar checkers, especially non-native English speakers.
Writing a paper void of errors requires that one uses an efficient, accurate, and reliable grammar
checker.

The objective of this project is to evaluate the software through quality assurance tests
and present the results of the findings to the purchasing executives. To establish whether the
software should be purchased, this report will use 75% as the amount of mistakes CorrectEnglish
should catch as well as qualitative factors. This report also contains a recommendation on if an
educational institution should purchase subscriptions for the students. The recommendation is
based on the testing performed by using the software and comparing it to other similar software.

Explanation of test/trials

A series of tests and trials were performed to evaluate the ability of the software to detect
errors in documents. There were several different documents submitted, ranging from
assignments from a Business Communication (BCOM 3310) class to purposely incorrect
sentences on the software collected from the website “Authority Pub”. The website also gives the
correct version of the sentences. This allowed an accurate analysis of how many errors the
software caught and the types of errors.

The first test that was performed involved uploading five different documents. The
purpose of this test was to find which types of errors were caught by which software and how
often. The documents used to test this were assignments written by college students, ranging
from one to two pages in length. The assignments were not purposely flawed like other writings
that were tested. The results of this test are displayed in the summary of results section.

A survey was created using a google document and sent out to UT Dallas undergraduate
students. The purpose of the survey was to gauge the awareness and usage of the software among
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students. The UT Dallas undergraduate students were used as a sample population. The google
document displayed the five questions below:

Direction: circle your response

1. Do you use any grammar checking software?
Yes No
2. If so, which one do you use? (circle all that apply)
Grammarly Microsoft word Correct English Other__________
3. If so, do you find them helpful?
Yes No Never used them
4. Have you ever heard of Correct English?
Yes No
5. Would you use CorrectEnglish if the University offered it for free?
Yes No

A series of incorrect sentences were uploaded to Correct English, Grammarly, and

Microsoft Word. The purpose of this test was to see how many errors and which type of errors
the three software would catch the most. The sentences uploaded had various mistakes in them
including using incorrect contractions, wrong punctuation, and misspelled words.

Figure 1: Incorrect sentences uploaded

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Positives and Negatives of the product

The data below was compiled based on end- user feedback. After testing CorrectEnglish,
there are several positive aspects but there are also negative ones. The positives and negatives of
CorrectEnglish are based on qualitative characteristics, not quantitative ones. The feedback
received is provided in the bullet points below.

Positives:
● Software is user-friendly.
● Free version offered.
● Explains corrections.
● Grammar check features.
● Errors categorized by color.
● Contains advanced toolbar.
● Shows text performance.
● Able to share documents.
● Able to add comments.
● Has an “Undo” button.
● Does not require installation.
● 1-year free premium access.
● Existence of a ‘help’ option.

Negatives:
● No hub to return to documents that have been uploaded.
● Software was not working properly due to repairs.
● Logged out of the account when the user would exit.
● Does not provide performance scores after the report.
● Contains a time limit so the user has to re-login.
● Lack of suggestions on how errors can be corrected.
● Difficulty accessing the product, especially in the evenings.
● Does not inform the user that the website is fixing repairs.
● Doesn’t offer a direct connection to Microsoft Word.

Comparison with other similar softwares

The table below shows the comparison between CorrectEnglish and two other similar
software, Grammarly and Microsoft Word. This table is based on data about the quality of each
software.
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Category CorrectEnglish Grammarly Microsoft word

Versions offered Free or Professional Free, Premium, or Only one available

Business

Login Login required and Login required; no No login required; no

requirements has time limit time limit time limit

Features Color-coded for Color-coded for No colors used

different error type different error type

Suggestions for Sometimes gives Always gives Always gives

corrections suggestions suggestions suggestions

Tone detector Available Not available Not available

Pricing Free version or Free version or Free

Premium for $288 Premium for
annually $139.95 annually

Feedback Provides feedback on Provides feedback Provides feedback on

errors only for both errors and errors only
strengths

Accessibility Colorful, busy Limited colors and Not many colors and
interface, and poor contrast good contrast
contrast
Table 1: Comparison of CorrectEnglish with Grammarly and Microsoft Word

Summary of results/comparisons

After uploading eight purposely incorrect sentences, the results show that CorrectEnglish
does not catch as many issues as other websites or software. The free version of Grammarly
catches more issues than the paid-for version of CorrectEnglish. When you compare
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CorrectEnglish to Microsoft Word, Word caught 3 of the issues which is only one less than
CorrectEnglish. The CorrectEnglish software should catch way more than Microsoft Word
considering that CorrectEnglish is classified as a grammar checker and proofreader while Word
is not classified as either.

The results from testing the college students assignments are displayed below. Grammar
wise, the software that was most successful was Gramamrly. Grammarly caught 14 out of 19
mistakes in the paper, while CorrectEnglish only caught 9. There were 21 misspelled words in
the papers and Grammarly was the most successful as detecting errors. The software caught 19
out of 21 words while CorrectEnglish only caught 7, less than both Gramamrly and Microsoft
Word There was a total of 16 punctuation mistakes and CorrectEnglish only caught 2 of them.
The final type of error tested was style and clarity. There were 16 mistakes involving style
issues. CorrectEnglish caught 12 mistakes while Grammarly caught all of them.

Figure 2: Error detection

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After surveying 60 students at UT Dallas, the results showed that while many students
use grammar checkers, many of them have not heard of CorrectEnglish. While 85% of the
students answered that they do use grammar checkers, only 15% of them had heard of
CorrectEnglish. When asked if they would use the software if their institution provided for free,
the majority of people said maybe, not yes.

Figure 3: % who use grammar checkers Figure 4: % who have heard of CorrectEnglish

Figure 5: % of students who would use CorrectEnglish

Another question in the student survey asked which grammar checking software was used
most by the students . The majority of people said that they use Microsoft Word instead of an
online software such as Grammarly or CorrectEnglish. The least amount used ‘Other’ but it is
not specified which software that is. The answers to this question are displayed in the bar graph
below.
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Figure 6: Results from student survey

When comparing how easy it is to use the different software, Grammarly is the easiest.
Grammarly also offers a unique feature that CorrectEnglish does not. Grammarly allows the user
to download the Grammarly software and use it through Microsoft Word. The user can click on
Grammarly in the toolbar and it opens a sidebar similar to the one on the website. It gives
suggestions as the user is writing. It also allows the user to pick preferences for the writing such
as only looking for spelling or grammar issues or looking for any issues. CorrectEnglish does not
offer an option like this.

As for the positives versus negative, the negative aspects outweigh the positives. While
CorrectEnglish does offer some useful tools, it doesn’t catch as many mistakes as it should and is
not as easy to use as other similar software. It does give the user a toolbar similar to Microsoft
Word to allow them to write their paper but it is easier to write in Word and then upload to
CorrectEnglish so it seems unnecessary. As for the mistakes it catches, it only catches half of
them. A software this expensive should be catching the majority of mistakes, at least 75% of
them. Not only does it not catch major mistakes, the software flags multiple things that are not
issues at all.

Another issue that appeared several times during testing was that CorrectEnglish seems to
be down quite a bit. Users are unsure if the website is down or if it is scheduled maintenance.
The website does not warn you that they will be doing maintenance so the user is not sure
whether the website has crashed or if it was planned that the website would be down. Many
websites do their maintenance overnight, usually from 2 am to 5 am. CorrectEnglish, assuming
they’re doing maintenance, performs their updates at very inconvenient times. Several times
during testing, the website was unavailable in the middle of the day with no warning.
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As for the pricing of CorrectEnglish, it is more expensive than the other grammar
checkers that CorrectEnglish was compared to. CorrectEnglish is over two times more expensive
than Grammarly. Depending on the number of students attending, an educational institution
could spend millions of dollars on the software.

Purchase Recommendation

At this time, it is not recommended that any educational institutes purchase

CorrectEnglish subscriptions for their students. After evaluating the software, it does not meet
the standards necessary. While there are several useful tools that Correct English® offers, the
negative aspects outweigh the positives. If Correct English continues working on repairing and
upgrading the software, then the educational institutions could reevaluate.
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References

Radi, O. (2015). Studies relating to computer use of spelling and grammar checkers and
educational achievement. Retrieved from https://utdallas.primo.exlibrisgroup.com

15 Common Grammar Mistakes That Kill Your Writing Credibility. (2020, February 19).
Retrieved from https://authority.pub/common-grammar-mistakes/