Four of the Best Apps for Literature Students

Guest post

There are plenty of apps and online tools available to help students with their studies, and literature students are no exception.  If you’re after that prestigious first then you need to equip yourself with the best tools around. Here are four of the best apps for literature students...

1. Grammarly – ‘your personal grammar coach’

If you’re lacking confidence in your writing or if most of the feedback you’re getting is to do with grammar or writing style, then one of the best apps for you is Grammarly.  A literature course rightly expects you to have impeccable writing skills, and this includes grammar. Grammarly is basically an automated proofreading service – a bit like what your word-processing software will do, but more advanced. It can also adjust to different types of writing and is widely agreed to be the most powerful grammar checker tool on the market. See what you think! 

2. Project Gutenberg – digitizing the world’s great works

If you’re studying English Literature and haven’t yet discovered Project Gutenberg, then you need to visit it now! Project Gutenberg has attempted to collate all freely available literature (ie. literature which isn’t copyrighted or which has an expired copyright) and put it into one place. These e-books are high quality, published by respected publishers and properly proofread. The project was actually started in 1971 by Michael Hart, who wanted to digitize and distribute the great works of history. Before spending money buying any text for your course, take a look and see if Gutenberg has it. 

3. Merriam-Webster App – ‘dictionary in your pocket’

Technology has provided us with countless opportunities, but for word geeks having an entire dictionary in your pocket has surely got to be one of the most exciting ones.  Your university will probably subscribe to the OED (you can’t get it for free), but for easy access it’s worth downloading the Merriam-Webster app, which is free and comprehensive. Handily, it saves your past searches (so if you hear a word you don’t know in a lecture you can check what it means when you’re writing up your notes), allows you to ‘favorite’ definitions (if you really want to nerd out) and has a ‘word of the day’ function.

4. Swipespeare – translating Shakespearean language

Struggling with Shakespearean language? This useful app lets you swipe across any text to show a modern language translation, and then swipe back to show the original text. Swipespeare is not recommended for use all the time; after all, you do ultimately want to be able to read and delight in the original Jacobean phrases. But it is useful for the odd passage if you’re really struggling, or to perhaps throw new light on a text. If you’re tutoring younger students to earn some extra money, this could also be one of the best apps to get them engaged and interested in the world of Shakespeare.

Written by Catherine from Claypenny Student Properties, UK.