{"id":172,"date":"2017-07-20T16:30:16","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T16:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/chapter\/the-importance-of-spelling\/"},"modified":"2017-07-20T16:30:16","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T16:30:16","slug":"the-importance-of-spelling","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/chapter\/the-importance-of-spelling\/","title":{"raw":"The Importance of Spelling","rendered":"The Importance of Spelling"},"content":{"raw":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Word-processing programs usually have a spell-checker, but you should still carefully check for correct changes in your words. This is because automatic spell-checkers may not always understand the <strong><span class=\"s2\">context<\/span><\/strong> of a word.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Misspelling a word might seem like a minor mistake, but it can reflect very poorly on a writer. It suggests one of two things: either the writer does not care enough about his work to proofread it, or he does not know his <span class=\"s2\">topic<\/span> well enough to properly spell words related to it. Either way, spelling errors will make a reader less likely to trust a writer's authority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1018\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163015\/6170176616_2027fe8a05_m-1.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot showing suggested spelling replacements for an unseen misspelled word: ban-and-forth, bacon-and-forth, barn-and-forth, back-and-forth, Add to Dictionary, Undo\" width=\"198\" height=\"147\"\/>The best way to ensure that a paper has no spelling errors is to look for them during the <span class=\"s2\">proofreading<\/span> stage of the <span class=\"s2\">writing process<\/span>. Being familiar with the most common errors will help you find (and fix) them during the writing and proofreading stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Sometimes, a writer just doesn't know how to spell the word she wants to use. This may be because the word is technical <span class=\"s2\">jargon<\/span> or comes from a language other than her own. Other times, it may be a proper name that she has not encountered before. Anytime you want to use a word but are unsure of how to spell it, do not guess. Instead, check a <span class=\"s2\">dictionary<\/span> or other reference work to find its proper spelling.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Common Spelling Errors<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\">Phonetic<\/span><span class=\"s3\"> Errors<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Phonetics is a field that studies the sounds of a language. However, English phonetics can be tricky:\u00a0In English, the pronunciation of a word does not always relate to the way it is spelled. This can make spelling a challenge. Here are some common phonetic irregularities:<\/span><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"ul1\"><li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">A word can sound like it could be spelled multiple ways. For example: \"concede\" and \"conceed\" are the same phonetically, but only \"concede\" is the proper spelling.<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">A word has silent letters that the writer may forget to include. You cannot hear the \"a\" in \"realize,\" but you need it to spell the word correctly.<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">A word has double letters that the writer may forget to include. \"Accommodate,\" for example, is frequently misspelled as \"acommodate\" or \"accomodate.\"<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">The writer may use double letters when they are not needed. The word \"amend\" has only one \"m,\" but it is commonly misspelled with two.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Sometimes, words just aren't spelled the way they sound. \"Right,\" for example, does not resemble its phonetic spelling whatsoever. Try to become familiar with words that have unusual or non-phonetic spellings so you can be on the lookout for them in your writing. But again, the best way to avoid these misspellings is to consult a dictionary whenever you're unsure of the correct spelling.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\">Homophones<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">\"Bread\" and \"bred\" sound the same, but they are spelled differently, and they mean completely different things. Two words with different meanings but the same pronunciation are homophones. If you don't know which homophone is the right one to use, look both up in the dictionary to see which meaning (and spelling) you want. Common homophones include:<\/span><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"ul1\"><li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">right, rite, wright, and write<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">read (most <span class=\"s6\">tenses<\/span> of the verb) and reed<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">read (past, past participle) and red<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">rose (flower) and rose (past tense of rise)<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">carat, caret, and carrot<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">to, two, and too<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">there, their, and they're<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">its and it's<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><h3 class=\"p7\"><span class=\"s1\">Typographical Errors<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Some spelling errors are caused by the writer accidentally typing the wrong thing. Common <span class=\"s2\">typos<\/span> include:<\/span><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"ul1\"><li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Omitting letters from a word (typing \"brthday\" instead of \"birthday,\" for example)<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Adding extra letters (typing \"birthdayy\")<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Transposing two letters in a word (typing \"brithday\")<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Spacing words improperly (such as \"myb irthday\" instead of \"my birthday\")<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Being aware of these common mistakes when writing will help you avoid spelling errors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Word-processing programs usually have a spell-checker, but you should still carefully check for correct changes in your words. This is because automatic spell-checkers may not always understand the <strong><span class=\"s2\">context<\/span><\/strong> of a word.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Misspelling a word might seem like a minor mistake, but it can reflect very poorly on a writer. It suggests one of two things: either the writer does not care enough about his work to proofread it, or he does not know his <span class=\"s2\">topic<\/span> well enough to properly spell words related to it. Either way, spelling errors will make a reader less likely to trust a writer&#8217;s authority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1018\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163015\/6170176616_2027fe8a05_m-1.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot showing suggested spelling replacements for an unseen misspelled word: ban-and-forth, bacon-and-forth, barn-and-forth, back-and-forth, Add to Dictionary, Undo\" width=\"198\" height=\"147\" \/>The best way to ensure that a paper has no spelling errors is to look for them during the <span class=\"s2\">proofreading<\/span> stage of the <span class=\"s2\">writing process<\/span>. Being familiar with the most common errors will help you find (and fix) them during the writing and proofreading stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Sometimes, a writer just doesn&#8217;t know how to spell the word she wants to use. This may be because the word is technical <span class=\"s2\">jargon<\/span> or comes from a language other than her own. Other times, it may be a proper name that she has not encountered before. Anytime you want to use a word but are unsure of how to spell it, do not guess. Instead, check a <span class=\"s2\">dictionary<\/span> or other reference work to find its proper spelling.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Common Spelling Errors<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\">Phonetic<\/span><span class=\"s3\"> Errors<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Phonetics is a field that studies the sounds of a language. However, English phonetics can be tricky:\u00a0In English, the pronunciation of a word does not always relate to the way it is spelled. This can make spelling a challenge. Here are some common phonetic irregularities:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">A word can sound like it could be spelled multiple ways. For example: &#8220;concede&#8221; and &#8220;conceed&#8221; are the same phonetically, but only &#8220;concede&#8221; is the proper spelling.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">A word has silent letters that the writer may forget to include. You cannot hear the &#8220;a&#8221; in &#8220;realize,&#8221; but you need it to spell the word correctly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">A word has double letters that the writer may forget to include. &#8220;Accommodate,&#8221; for example, is frequently misspelled as &#8220;acommodate&#8221; or &#8220;accomodate.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">The writer may use double letters when they are not needed. The word &#8220;amend&#8221; has only one &#8220;m,&#8221; but it is commonly misspelled with two.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Sometimes, words just aren&#8217;t spelled the way they sound. &#8220;Right,&#8221; for example, does not resemble its phonetic spelling whatsoever. Try to become familiar with words that have unusual or non-phonetic spellings so you can be on the lookout for them in your writing. But again, the best way to avoid these misspellings is to consult a dictionary whenever you&#8217;re unsure of the correct spelling.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\">Homophones<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;Bread&#8221; and &#8220;bred&#8221; sound the same, but they are spelled differently, and they mean completely different things. Two words with different meanings but the same pronunciation are homophones. If you don&#8217;t know which homophone is the right one to use, look both up in the dictionary to see which meaning (and spelling) you want. Common homophones include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">right, rite, wright, and write<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">read (most <span class=\"s6\">tenses<\/span> of the verb) and reed<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">read (past, past participle) and red<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">rose (flower) and rose (past tense of rise)<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">carat, caret, and carrot<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">to, two, and too<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">there, their, and they&#8217;re<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">its and it&#8217;s<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"p7\"><span class=\"s1\">Typographical Errors<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Some spelling errors are caused by the writer accidentally typing the wrong thing. Common <span class=\"s2\">typos<\/span> include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Omitting letters from a word (typing &#8220;brthday&#8221; instead of &#8220;birthday,&#8221; for example)<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Adding extra letters (typing &#8220;birthdayy&#8221;)<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Transposing two letters in a word (typing &#8220;brithday&#8221;)<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li6\"><span class=\"s5\">Spacing words improperly (such as &#8220;myb irthday&#8221; instead of &#8220;my birthday&#8221;)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Being aware of these common mistakes when writing will help you avoid spelling errors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-172\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Common Spelling Errors. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Boundless. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/writing\/textbooks\/boundless-writing-textbook\/overview-of-english-grammar-punctuation-and-mechanics-251\/general-mechanics-32\/common-spelling-errors-147-1342\/\">https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/writing\/textbooks\/boundless-writing-textbook\/overview-of-english-grammar-punctuation-and-mechanics-251\/general-mechanics-32\/common-spelling-errors-147-1342\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Image of bacon-and-forth. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Bryan Mason. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/apeLxs\">https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/apeLxs<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":19,"menu_order":7,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Common Spelling Errors\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Boundless\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/writing\/textbooks\/boundless-writing-textbook\/overview-of-english-grammar-punctuation-and-mechanics-251\/general-mechanics-32\/common-spelling-errors-147-1342\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Image of bacon-and-forth\",\"author\":\"Bryan Mason\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/apeLxs\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-172","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":155,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/172\/revisions"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/155"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/172\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=172"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=172"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}