About spell check
We all rely on spell check to some extent. That's not a problem in itself. It can take some of the stress out of everyday writing. The problem is when our over-reliance on spell check gets us in trouble. In print or online, the results can be disastrous. Or hilarious. Let me put it this way:
Spell Czech let's ewe spill thee rung whirred rite.
Would you believe spell check didn't flag a single word of that when I first wrote it in 2010?
You're right if you're thinking that was an ungrammatical example. Good for you! But consider the typos we see every day and in our own writing. How many misspelled words wind up forming correctly spelled words that are utterly inappropriate for their context? Those kinds of errors are more likely to occur when we become overly reliant on spell check.
Spell check can help us, but it also has its limitations. It can lull us into complacency. Worse yet, it can undermine our credibility if our typos go uncorrected. Spell check might not come to the rescue when we type it's for its, from for form, and there for they're or their. And why doesn't spell check always rescue us?
Because spell check lets you spell the wrong word right.
Spell Czech let's ewe spill thee rung whirred rite.
Would you believe spell check didn't flag a single word of that when I first wrote it in 2010?
You're right if you're thinking that was an ungrammatical example. Good for you! But consider the typos we see every day and in our own writing. How many misspelled words wind up forming correctly spelled words that are utterly inappropriate for their context? Those kinds of errors are more likely to occur when we become overly reliant on spell check.
Spell check can help us, but it also has its limitations. It can lull us into complacency. Worse yet, it can undermine our credibility if our typos go uncorrected. Spell check might not come to the rescue when we type it's for its, from for form, and there for they're or their. And why doesn't spell check always rescue us?
Because spell check lets you spell the wrong word right.
7© 2010–2019 Camille Nelson