Google Docs is a popular free online document editing tool used by students around the world. Its simplicity and collaboration features make it easy to write papers with classmates or professors. However, Docs lacks some advanced formatting and writing features found in paid alternatives like Microsoft Word.

That’s where add-ons come in! Google Docs supports over 300 free and paid add-ons that can add useful functionality. As a student, you can install add-ons to help plan, research, write, edit, and format academic papers in Google Docs.

Here are 5 of the best Google Doc add-ons that will help students compose better papers:

1. EasyBib Bibliography Creator

The most tedious part of academic writing is compiling the bibliography and citations. With EasyBib, you can automatically generate citations and bibliographies in over 9,000 styles including APA, MLA and Chicago.

To use:

Click “Add-ons” > “Get Add-ons”

Search for “EasyBib”
Click “Install” to connect your Google account
When writing your paper, click the EasyBib icon to open the sidebar

Enter the details of your source like the title, author, URL or DOI
Click “Add Source”
Insert in-text citations easily

Click “Generate Bibliography” to instantly create your references list

With EasyBib doing the heavy citation lifting, you’ll have more time for actual writing!

2. Grammarly

Grammarly is an AI-powered writing enhancement tool used by over 30 million people worldwide. The Google Docs add-on will check your paper draft for:

Grammar and punctuation errors
Spelling mistakes
Stylistic issues like repetitiveness

Plagiarism through copied text

Grammarly identifies issues and provides correction suggestions as you type. The free version offers basic checks while premium tiers give more advanced recommendations.

To use:

Click “Add-ons” > “Get add-ons”
Search for “Grammarly”
Click “Install” and log in to Grammarly

Compose your paper draft
Watch Grammarly underline issues and provide fixes as you type
Right-click underlined phrases to see context and correction advice

Make changes to improve the clarity and effectiveness of your writing

With Grammarly, you can write confidently knowing your paper is clear, concise, and error-free.

3. Paperpile

Paperpile is a dedicated reference management service for researchers and academics. The Google Docs add-on allows you to:

Search across academic databases like Google Scholar from within your Doc
Import citations directly into your paper
Organize sources into collections and tag sources with keywords

Read attached PDFs without leaving Docs

Paperpile makes it simple to manage all your references and documents for research papers in one place.

To use:

Click “Add-ons” > “Get add-ons”
Search for “Paperpile”
Click “Install” and sign up for a free Paperpile account

Create a Paperpile collection for your paper
Use Paperpile’s search to find and import sources into your collection
Insert citations from Paperpile into your Doc

Click on a citation to open and read the attached source document

With Paperpile, you’ll write papers more efficiently as all your sources and notes are integrated into Docs.

4. Wordtune

Wordtune is a writing enhancement tool focused on improving vocabulary and sentence structure. The Google Docs add-on rephrases sentences to be clearer, more concise, and readable using AI.

Key features include:

Rewording complex long sentences into simple shorts ones
Fixing misused words and suggesting clearer alternatives

Making tone more consistent throughout the document

Wordtune helps you express ideas more precisely with the right words so readers can understand your paper easily.

To use:

Click “Add-ons” > “Get add-ons”
Search for “Wordtune”
Click “Install” to link Wordtune with your Google account

Write your paper draft in Docs
Highlight sentences and click the Wordtune icon
Choose from simplified and improved sentence suggestions

Replace highlighted text with better phrasing in one click

With Wordtune, you can get help ensuring your paper ideas come across clearly and effectively.

5. Outline&Docx Converter

Outline&Docx Converter lets you quickly convert your paper outline created in Google Docs into a Microsoft Word .docx document.

This helps when your professor requires paper submissions in .docx format rather than .gdoc Google Docs format. The add-on handles font, heading, and list formatting so your Word document looks the same as your Google Doc outline.

To use:

Click “Add-ons” > “Get add-ons”

Search for “Outline&Docx Converter”
Click “Install”
Compose your standard outline in Docs with Roman numerals, letters, numbers for sections

Click the Outline&Docx Converter icon
The .docx will open in Microsoft Word online
Download the Word file to submit to your professor

With Outline&Docx Converter, you don’t have to redo your outline formatting in Word. Just one click to convert Google Doc outlines to submittable Word documents!

Get Writing Faster with Google Docs Add-ons

Google Docs add-ons unlock useful extra features for academic writing like automatic bibliography and citation creation, improved spelling/grammar, clearer sentence rewriting, and simplified outline conversion.

The best Docs add-ons help students: