Spell-Checker:
Not A Substitute For Proofreading
Contributed by
Mary Carroll
Success in business today relies on many things; one of them is your professionalism. The way you communicate in your business correspondence, whether in a quick e-mail, a business report or a resume cover letter makes an impression regarding your professionalism, attention to detail and education.
Most of us no longer have the luxury of an office assistant. For those of us who are required to write and type our own reports and correspondence, spell-checker is an indispensable tool. Spelling and /or grammar check tools are included in nearly every software program available today.
As wonderful as spell-checker is, it’s only capable of doing so much. As with any computer command, it will do only what it’s been asked to do: recognize and correct misspelled words. If a word is spelled correctly but used incorrectly, spell-checker will not catch it. It is very important to proofread your work for these kinds of errors. Below is a short list of commonly misused homonyms.
accept: to accept is to receive
except: other than
affect: to have an influence on,
effect: usually a noun meaning result
its: shows possession
it's: contraction of it is
lose: to misplace something
loose: not tight, to set free
no: the negative
know: to possess knowledge
there: a place
their: shows possession
they're: a contraction of they are
to: used to link words
too: refers to quantity or excessive degree
two: number two
weather: meteorological condition
whether: if it be the case
wether: a castrated ram or goat
which: selection
witch: broomstick-riding crone
your: shows possession
you're: contraction of you are
yore: the past
Proofreading steps to take after you’ve completed your first draft:
- Run spell-checker to correct your misspelled words.
- Read your document to make sure that there aren’t any incorrect words in your text like witch instead of which. And while you’re proofreading, also keep in mind your grammar and keep your verb tense consistent.
- Reading it out loud—this is great way to catch your errors. Also proofing paragraphs out of order will help prevent your brain from automatically skipping over errors.
- If you have the time, wait at least an hour from the time you composed your document to begin proofreading. This will help provide you with a fresh outlook.
- Run spell-checker again, as you may have made a few inadvertent errors while editing your work.
- Print your document and read it again.
- Get someone, anyone else, to read your work, as it’s so easy to overlook your own mistakes.
- Run spell-checker one last time before printing out your final document.
If you’ve followed these guidelines, send your document off with confidence that you’ve made a good impression!
About the Author:
Mary Carroll is a customer advocate for Video Professor, the leader in self-paced software learning tutorials. http://www.videoprofessor.com
This article is intended for general informational purposes and does not provide legal or other professional advice. All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Please read our disclaimer for additional terms and conditions governing access to and use of this article.
|
