Improve On...Spelling!

[kawolsky]

Improve On...Spelling!

In the first of many special articles for Personal Improvement Month, we're going to start by looking at common spelling mistakes and the simple steps you can take to avoid them in your posts.

There are many words that we all find difficult to spell. Whether it's because the word is long, has many of the same letters in or you simply forgot which way around the "i" and the "e" goes, there's always a few of those tricky spellings that catch us out. Download our list of the most often misspelled words (.pdf), along with some handy ways to remember the correct spelling. You can also write down a list of your own commonly misspelled words with some notes to help you spell them correctly in the future. Why not download our worksheet (.pdf) to help you with this?

Because nobody is perfect and everyone will make mistakes, there are also many ways you can check your spelling in a post. The most simple and obvious way is to use the built-in forum spell-check tool located next to the "Post" and "Preview" buttons on the post screen. Though won't pick up every single error in your post, it will go a long way to ensuring that your posts are error-free.

Of course, you don't have to use our own spell-check. There are many other online spell-check tools out there on the internet, such as SpellChecker.net, SpellCheckOnline and SpellChecker.co.uk to name but a few. And if all else fails, there's always the good old online dictionary!

Finally, we should all be aware of homophones and how they work. Homophones are words that sound the same as each other but differ in meaning. Examples include the infamous "their", "there" and "they're" and "two", "to" and "too". Each word has a different meaning, yet sounds the same if you were to say them out loud. If you struggle with selecting the right homophones for your posts, check out our homophones help sheet (.pdf) as put together by our very own T'Ra Jones.

Remember, spelling is something all of us struggle on from time to time. It is also something for which there is a plethora of online resources that can aid you in avoiding any mistakes. We've listed just a few of the ones out there, but if you look you are sure to find some more that will benefit your particular learning style. Use these resources wisely and you'll soon find the spelling in your posts improves dramatically!

Useful links:
Shadow Fleet is not responsible for the content of external websites.

• Common Spelling Errors at Oxford University Press
• Test Your Spelling! at Oxford University Press
• Common Spelling Errors at Actwin.com
• How to Avoid Common Spelling Mistakes at HowToDoThings.com
• Homophones and Other Confusing Words at Esldesk.com
• Homophones Quiz at EnglishBaby.com
• Free Printable Worksheets at Spelling It Right
• Free Spelling Worksheets at English For Everyone

[ThomasRiker]

Spelling is admitingly one of my largest issues. I have two things though that sometimes prevent me from getting my posts right.  Sometimes, I post with my phone, for those of you that use a phone to post, you may have noticed while possible, editing is a major pain, and I usually give up when I use the phone for posting. The second is depending on what web browser I am using, the SF spell checker does not always work for me.