Spell Check is There for a Reason
With a title like that I should probably be careful, huh! I am probably setting myself up for some kind of fire.
I will be the first to say that not all of my articles that I publish turn out precisely the way I planned, but I usually read them after they are published and fix the issues I find in them. (Which I could prevent altogether if I were to take the time right before submitting to read and fix them.) However I find it very difficult to enjoy reading an article that I am mentally editing the whole way through.
In 2010 and the years to come, not to mention quite a few years before, there really is not any reason for misspelled words. Call it technology, but in reality it was some sweet dear, came up with a brilliant idea and added spell check to almost any writing platform and now all we have to do is click a button. The spell checker even has the correction for us, all we have to do is click on which form of the word we were trying to spell. Correct spelling could not be any easier!
Every time I read an article filled with bad grammar, or misspelled words I so badly want to re-type the entire article and send the fixed copy to the author. I want absolutely nothing in return, except the joy of knowing I can then go back and enjoy reading the article without all of the mental hassle.
I literally can not stop the mental editing. I have no off button. I do realize that I am not a professional editor and I make mistakes myself. I’m not sure if that fact makes it even sadder that I do recognize the mistakes of others work. Considering that I am an amateur and I can see the mistakes, why is it that you can not.
I find that I not only have this problem while reading articles and written work online, but also on the social networking sites. However the social networking sites do not have spell checker but they do add a squiggly red line under words misspelled, letting you know “Hey there’s something wrong with this word. You should probably fix it before you click submit.” That little red squiggly line can be a curse and a blessing because sometimes you are misspelling words on purpose, or the spell checker doesn’t recognize the spelling of a name. Maybe that confuses people. Maybe there are people who think, “Hey, my computer is making it pretty, what a sweet computer I have.” Well I am here to clear that kind of thinking up!
If you get a little red squiggly line under a word, it’s either a name or it is misspelled and you should fix it so readers can focus on your work completely. If a word is highlighted and you did not do the highlighting there is probably something wrong with the word.
I do want to end with a question. How many would be offended if I ‘corrected’ their work? Would it be okay for me to point out misspellings? Would it be offensive if I took the time to re-type your article and send the corrections to you?
Liked it
Tags: Arts, Spell checker, Spelling, Writers Resources
Click the icon to the left to subscribe to Writinghood with your favorite RSS reader.
- Just a Love Note
- Toddlers on Triond: Take Time to Make Your Comments
- I'm Sorry Triond...but There's Someone Else
- Addicted to Triond?
- Is It Wise to Keep Writing for Writing Sites?
- Triond is Online Writing with Training Wheels
- Painting Pictures With Words
- My Triond Writing Experience
- A Writing Sabbatical
- The Tipping Point: Why Triond is Going Nowhere
August 18th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Hi Alaina
To answer you id have to say that I would personally find it very arrogant for somebody to retype MY article and hand it back to me! It’s like somebody borrowing my girl, having sex with her, and returning her back to me, just to tell me that I should have bedded her in a certain way! lol Correcting though can be very helpful, as sometimes no matter how often we edit, there will always be some sort of misspelling or punctuation error. Sometimes when you publish your article, the publishing process itself can scramble a few spaces, and thus join two otherwise independent words. This I find quite frustrating! It’s why I read all of my published articles, and quite often edit the articles after publishing just to polish off the end product.
Some people obviously don’t use the spell checker well enough. It should be a common practice in anyone’s writing process. I even spell check when I type comments like this! Is it so hard to use a word processor prior to posting through the very poor spellchecker Triond has provided us? After all what is just a few mere clicks?
Great article as usual. Keep it coming Alaina!
Dejan
August 18th, 2010 at 12:32 am
Dejan,
Thank you!! : ) And my point exactly…though I’ve read your work and I do not have to do any mental work as far as editing goes you are great!
The only mental work I do while reading your work is mental work that comes from such great writing…which leads to deep thinking on my part! You are very well spoken : ) And I can definitely tell that you are a perfectionist through your writing, however I enjoy that because it forces the reader to think a little deeper and also appreciate the work you put into the items you publish.
Thank you for reading and commenting!!
-Alaina
August 18th, 2010 at 6:02 am
Look for the green squigglies too! The grammar checker telling you that you’ve used the wrong form of there/they’re/their, its/it’s, or whatever. Grammar checkers aren’t as reliable as spell checkers yet – they often get things wrong in complex sentences – but they’re getting better.
Both my wife and I are* the sort of people who fume over spelling errors on pub lunch menus. Shame blackboard and chalk don’t come with built-in spell checkers.
* My grammar checker wanted to change this “are” to an “am.” I guess it is linking it to the noun phrase “sort of people” and so assuming it should be singular to match. As I said, grammar checkers aren’t perfect yet.
August 18th, 2010 at 6:03 am
Oh, and if you ever feel the need to correct my work, do set your spell checker to UK English first.
August 18th, 2010 at 7:20 am
Hi Alaina
Thanks for all of your praise! Reading your reply made my day! You’re a really fine writer yourself, and I really enjoy reading your content! I see myself at the very beginning of my writing endeavor. Hopefully I’ll get into University next year and get to study the English language and literature. I’m going through the adult entry test in late Nov, so hopefully I’ll do alright enough to score the course I want to get in! Either way next year I will begin perusing an education in writing and the English language! So I’m bound to get better!
I’ll probably read through all of my content here in five years time and cringe! lol That is what makes online writing, and the online writing community so special really. It’s a free platform that helps us develop a skill that relatively few posses.
You have a great day, and keep in touch!
Dejan
August 18th, 2010 at 11:40 am
“Good article Alaina”. Spell check make us all “idiot proof”, if we “all” use it….haha Well done dear.
August 18th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Spell chek (I mean check) is sadly under used, and it presents a grave issue that should be addressed: Illiteracy. Good write.
August 18th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Well done. Yep, I cringe enough when I find my own mistakes, even after I use spell check…especially with grammar or using the wrong version of a word. To me it is unprofessional to put out work that has improper grammer or misselled words. But, not everyone is out there with a goal to be a professional writer. Some just want to post stuff to make money. I am not one of those..anyway….I would welcome your feedback of corrections anytime! You know that! But…I think I would want to actually do the fixing myself! This way I learn a lesson! hahahaha!
August 18th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
@ Peter,
Hey there!! It has been a long time…to long in fact!! How are you?
Thanks for reading and commenting!! You always put a smile on my face : )
@keyboardologist
I agree illiteracy is a problem that should be addressed in far greater depths than the public school system is willing. Thank you for reading and commenting!
@ hfj
*Idiot proof* –love it!! haha…thanks!
@Bruce Officer
) I will set my spell checker LOL….thank you for reading and commenting!
I find myself doing the same thing, and if I ever find myself correcting your work (
@Silent Wasp
Good luck with your learning endeavors! Thank you for the sweet comment! Keep in touch for sure:)
August 19th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I totally agree with you. I would not be offended by pointing out spelling mistakes, for it would help me remember to check the next write. Thanks!