Some people think that they can simply use their spellchecks and never
learn to spell. That's dangerous. If you're not a very good speller, start
working on a system to get better. You have a limited writing vocabulary
and if you work at it word-by-word, you can get better.
- Keep a spelling log--a notebook where you can record words you've
misspelled. (Your goal in such a notebook isn't to spell every word right
that you've misspelled in the past, but to begin to recognize the words you
have trouble with. Once you start to recognize the words you misspell, you
can start to memorize the ones you constantly misspell.
- Keep a few spelling rules in mind. (Don't
over-do this; rules are slippery things and spelling rules are full of
exceptions.)
- Work on your homonyms. (Spelling
checkers
don't catch those.)
- Learn your core spelling words.
- Remember that the British and Americans
sometimes spell things differently.
Got questions?
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