How Important is Spelling and Grammar?
In this day and age, more and more people have the capability to have ‘their words’ read by more and more people. With the advent of text messages, social networking and even the ‘boom’ in online self-publishing, it seems that the writing of everyone can be read by anyone. So how important is spelling and grammar?
Spelling and grammar are the basic building blocks for when we want to construct what we want to say. If being spoken, spelling is much less of an issue (mispronunciation may cause problems though) but grammar can easily be shown when speaking. The correct slight pause at the right time can make the meaning perfectly clear. When it comes to writing it down, if the grammar is not there rightly, the meaning may become lost, or at least clouded.
So Is Spelling and Grammar Important?
The importance someone puts on their spelling and grammar is systematic with how serious they want to be taken, how successful they would like to be. If anyone is getting paid for their writing, whether by a publisher or even online writing, then they have the potential and responsibility to do it to the best of their ability.
Before anyone starts having a go at me, I am not claiming to be an expert. Far from it to be honest. I realise that there are some out there who could find errors in this whole piece, whether grammatical, structural or with spelling. It is very easy to let the odd typo slip through.
The problem I see with some of the stuff I read on the internet is not just the odd typo, but, what can only be described as, horrific spelling and non-existent grammar. Generally speaking, if I read a sentence and don’t get the meaning behind it then I will re-read it. If I don’t get it second time round because it doesn’t quite make sense, there is a good chance I will read no further. The author of the piece may have gone down in my estimation and it would put me off reading more of their stuff.
Hold on, hold on. All those who, at this point, think I have been out of line saying that. You know what? Think of the famous authors. The successful authors, whose books take pride of place on your book-shelf. Do you think they would be there if the spelling and grammar was awful? Of course not because the book wouldn’t have been published in the first place if it was that bad and, even if it had been, it would never have had the good reputation that caused you to buy it in the first place. It matters not what the genre is, no book in any genre would become popular if the spelling and grammar majorly let it down.
So What About Online Writing?
Good question. Above I mentioned real books in the real world but online writing differs majorly because anyone can have their writing out their without having to go through a publisher. Glorified vanity self publishing. There is a major difference between posting on social networks and posting on a writing site (such as Triond). The main difference; in the former there is no pay, in the latter there is. For me, that is the crux of the matter. Yeah on a forum or a social network or anywhere else where there is no monetary value for the person writing, then spelling and grammar matters not one bit. However, if one is getting paid then spelling and grammar becomes more important.
Put it this way, the more serious someone takes their writing, the more onus they put on spelling and grammar, the more serious they will be taken. The more serious as a writer they are taken, the higher the chance is of getting people to come back to read more of your stuff. The more that happens, the more money one can make. Don’t get me wrong, improving it won’t result in anyone becoming a millionaire, but it could make the difference between cents and dollars. Every little bit helps.
Any Tips?
- Take more from what you read: The more one reads the better their vocabulary becomes. The more aware they will become of spelling and the better the grasp of punctuation and grammar.
- Don’t be afraid to read over your stuff: When you have written something, have a re-read and then re-read it again to make sure it says what you want to say in the way you want it to be said.
- Get someone else to look at it first: It is surprising how often one can read their own thing numerous times and fail to pick up on some errors. A fresh pair of eyes might just help.
- Read it out loud: This may sound silly to some but it is a very effective way to check things. When you say things out loud the grammar comes out more and you will be able to hear where the grammar and/or punctuation needs improved.
- Take your time: When writing, take your time to think of what you want to say and how you want to say it. Experiment with sentence structures if need be.
As I said above, I am not claiming to be an expert. Other people may well have other tips that could be followed to be more beneficial.
So, spelling and grammar is important then?
As long as you are always looking to improve and strive to be the best as you can, then improving your writing will always have a positive benefit. It is the same with anything; the better one can be, the better they will be. The more you put in, the more you will take out.
NB: Just want to add this at the bottom, many people may disagree with some of the sentiments expressed above. Fair enough. Opinions are what makes the world go round. If anyone wants to offer up a different way of looking at the question please feel free to comment. I will try and respond to all serious thoughts and opinions, discussion is always welcome.
While we are on the subject of spelling, check the following article out;
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June 26th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Simple answer? Very.
Nicely done article Alistair.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Have to agree, even if your writing isn’t earning anything, if it’s written for literary purposes it should take the basics into consideration for the sake of your readers. I find I am a terrible proof reader of my own stuff though. I think it’s because I know what it is ’supposed’ to say and therefore don’t always catch a missing word etc. as I read through it.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:41 am
To me spelling and grammar is very important. If someone spots a mistake in my writing, I don’t mind them pointing it out to me. That at least gives me a chance to make corrections.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Excellent!!..This is really highly informative article..must read..educational too..Well done!!..Thanx a lot for sharing
June 26th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Like me you are piece. Job good.
Thanks,
Clay
June 26th, 2009 at 9:12 am
You make a lot of sense for the average person.. I have a learning disability in spelling, and if it were not for the little red lines, or the editors, I would not be able to even share my work with anyone, because I would be rejected. It is easy for those who can spell and understand grammar, to say it is easy to correct. I have looked up the same words for years, and still can not remember how they are spelled. I have written to my sister every week for 40 years, and I have to look in my address book to spell her last name every time I write her.. It is a word that my brain can not connect to. It is very difficult for me to spell or understand grammar. Some times I don’t even know why I torture myself so much trying to perfect something that I know I have no control over. Who speaks for those of us who have this learning disability?
June 26th, 2009 at 9:32 am
@Ladybaby: thanks for your input, you have raised a very important point.
From my point of view (and you did touch on this in your first sentence) the article was aimed more at the average person rather than those at differing ends of the scale.
I have a few friends who suffer from dyslexia (some worse than others) I wouldn’t dream of ‘preaching’ to them to improve their grammar and/or spelling.
From my point of view, anyone who has any sort of learning disability that may impugn on their writing, it is always helful for them to have editors/ spell checkers etc.
For others that are just lazy though, well………!!! LOL
June 26th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Very well written article Alistair and reading the above comments I feel all sectors are sensitively included.There are lots of good points indeed to bring away and share. Thanks
June 26th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I think that spelling and grammar are extremely important to get right. I find it really hard work having to keep re-reading things to try and make sense of them, and like you, I probably won’t want to read anything else by that writer. My tip for improving punctuation is to read things aloud and notice where you have to take a breath – that is normally where a comma is needed!
June 26th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Great article, Ali.
I guess that every writer of average ability makes the occasional mistake with spelling and grammer. It’s the ones that don’t even try to get it right that get my back up.
ladybaby – If you use the spellcheck a thousand times a week and only learn one thing from it, you will have done well, at least it shows that you are trying!
June 26th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
very important – I teach it and hopefully live it
June 26th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
An informative article, I have had to read over what I have written a time to two to find errors. Thanks for sharing.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I agree ,is very recomended re.-review, re.-read and so on. Helpful advices.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
a great and helpful article!!
June 27th, 2009 at 12:06 am
this could have been written about me!
June 27th, 2009 at 12:42 am
This is absolutely a wonderful article and helpful. I knew that when I decided to write that I needed to go to places to share the knowledge of writing. You are a wonderful teacher Baggi. You are also a leader. You may or may not be an expert – you are very darn good at writing. My opinion of the question – There is one true answer – yes. There are also many reasons for error. You pretty-much covered all of your bases!!! Or should I say nets!! Liz
June 27th, 2009 at 6:26 am
Thanks for writing this, Alistair. I also don’t claim to be perfect, but I always go over and over my articles with a fine-toothed spelling and grammar check. I also make good use of my old fashioned dictionaries. I am not by nature a good speller, so I work hard at it. I can relate to Ladybaby about having to look up the same words over and over.
If you are writing something for your own audience of one, then go ahead and use short cuts and invented spelling, but if the intention is to write to an audience, it makes sense to do what you can to make your message understandable.
June 28th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Very well done.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Yes, Spelling and grammer is IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for helping me publish my article alistair, you are certainly my expert.=)
July 17th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Good informative article. To answer your question, it is everything to a writer or poet. Number one priority. Well done
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
As you point out spelling and grammar are very important. As a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh between 2004 and 2006 I taught composition. My students knew that I did not tolerate poor spelling and poor grammar. I wondered how some of them got into college.
Correct spelling and good grammar are not only appreciated in academia but also in many, many jobs; jobs that my students were going to apply to in the real world. Often, a job searcher is given a written or computer test where the applicant must write. Poor spelling and grammar, you don’t get the job.
The thing is, I still make spelling and grammar mistakes.
Good article.
http://www.writinghood.com/online-writing/money-and-the-writing-of-sexy-short-stories-on-triond/ is one of my popular articles on Triond.
December 7th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Good for you! I often stop reading if things are not written correctly. I submitted a similar article recently, Edit Spelling Mistakes Out of Your Article.
March 14th, 2011 at 3:11 am
Spelling version 1:
Den threw the computer through a ball to John. Aloud singing the wired ball, it kept jumping. Then, Den felt something wrong, and, therefore, created a loupe on another computer to make a work to distract himself. At this time, John called Den, saying that he would like to give him some hare of his. Hearing this, Den said he rather dyed. John was happy with Den’s answer and wanted to wet him with paint and decided, after that, raised him in the end for fun. John thought the week would be interesting and exciting to him. On the other day, John visited a family’s members and tasted different foods. He ate the roe of the families. Den, accidentally, saw the scene and told him not to do this. John refused, saying this was the fate. Den, then, tried to leave the scene, but…
Spelling version 2:
Den through the computer threw a ball to Johan. Allowed singing the wired ball, it kept jumping. Then, Den felt something wrong, and therefore, created a loop on another computer to make a work to distract himself. At this time, John called Den, saying that he would like to give him some hair of his. Den said he rather died. John was happy with Den’s answer and wanted to whet him with paint and decided, after that, razed him in the end for fun. John thought the weak would be interesting and exciting to him. On the other day, John visited a family’s members and tasted different foods. He ate the row of the families. John refused, saying this was the fete. Den, then, tried to leave the scene, but…
October 22nd, 2011 at 8:28 pm
I completely agree with everything you said, but for some people this is much easier said than done. I am an ESL instructor who teacher adult immigrants at the advanced level. A majority of my students were professionals, or at least well educated technicians in their own countries. Unfortunately, many of them, particularly those from the Middle East were not taught English, nor are they familiar with phonics, vowel sounds or even the concept that English requires at the very least a cvc pattern. Not only does their language not have an alphabet, but it has very few vowels. The upshot is that students from these countries have massive spelling problems. So far, we have yet to find a spelling program aimed at adults with their specific problems. We make an effort to teach them how to spell, using spelling programs and rules aimed at native speakers, but with very little success. This lack of ability to spell properly limits their opportunities to find good jobs, or even respect. It’s a problem that needs to be dealt with.
Michelle Morissette