The Importance of an “i” in Spelling

Many of us take our language for granted. We speak it, we write and sometimes we type it, all as a matter of every day living. I doubt that I think about how to spell a word even once a week, it’s all a pattern of previously memorized letters that I use automatically.

However, there are days, when it is advisable to take your brain off autopilot.

This week I was teaching my students about:
www.dictionary.com

It’s a great on-line dictionary that makes it easy to find definitions of words and it also has a thesaurus which helps us find words with similar meanings (synonyms) and opposite meanings (antonyms).

Our group was a bit sluggish, so I asked the students to pick a word to define. No one answered. So I encouraged them—I firmly believe that people should use words that are meaningful to their lives.

One student answered with a question about the different sects of Muslims that she had heard about in the news. I told her that she would probably get a better idea from www.wikipedia.org (an online encyclopedia), but sure, since no one else had any ideas, let’s all type it into the definition box.

How do you spell it?

Instead of thinking about it, I and everyone in the class typed in the word exactly as she spelled it.

s, h, i, t, e.

It only faintly occurred to me that this spelling didn’t look quite right.

We pressed our enter keys and got the definition almost immediately.
shite, noun, obscene terms for feces [syn: crap]

The word we wanted was Shi’ite.
Shi ite also Shi’ite, noun, A member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali and his descendants as the legitimate successors to Muhammad and rejects the first three caliphs.

The lesson to be learned (once we had all stopped laughing) is that missing an “i” can turn a beautifully crafted piece into a pile of “you know what,” if you aren’t careful about your spelling.

Thanks for sharing a few minutes with me.
Ellen

Ellen Wass Beckerman
Writer/Photographer/Graphic Designer
Photography portfolio: www.istockphoto.com/zmacgal
www.gardentextures.com

Four Techniques For Proofreading

1) Use your spelling checker! In Microsoft Word, the software automatically checks spelling and underlines any suspected mistake in red. Items underlined in green are considered grammatical mistakes. Right-Clicking on the underlined word, brings up a menu of suggested corrections.

Spelling checkers are not always correct, but they are a good start. Remember, a spelling checker may not catch a typographical error that spells another word. For example: I don’t here you instead of I don’t hear you.

Hint: If you can’t determine whether or not a green underlined item is a genuine grammar error—Don’t bother! Most green underlined sentences are at the very least awkward. Rewrite or rearrange the sentence until the green underline disappears. New users and poor typists, be aware, extra spaces in a sentence will cause a green underline.

2) Read Your Document From Beginning To End. Out loud. After typing, rewriting and polishing your document, do a full read through. Many people catch awkward writing by reading the document out loud to themselves or to another person. If you have difficulty saying a sentence, people will have difficulty reading and/or understanding your sentence.

3) Read Your Document Backwards! From the last page at the bottom right—read each sentence—one at a time—going backwards through your document to the first page.

Many people automatically fill in any short words that are missing from a sentence they are reading. (Most people think in patterns of words and your brain sometimes sees the meaning of a sentence rather than its words.)

Reading a document backwards, forces you to concentrate on each word of each sentence. It is easier to find errors with this method because you are not thinking about the content of each paragraph, but the construction of each sentence.

Note: This method is tiring and it takes time. Do it LAST, after you’ve read through and polished your document to the best of your ability.

4) Have another person read it. There is a reason for the job title Writer and the job title Proofreader. A person who writes a document is often too familiar with the intent and content of the writing to see minor mistakes.

Whether or not you are a professional proofreader, the first time you read a document is the best time for you to discover errors, whether spelling, typographical or grammatical.

Thanks for sharing a few minutes with me.
Ellen

Ellen Wass Beckerman
Writer/Photographer/Graphic Designer
Photography portfolio: www.istockphoto.com/zmacgal
www.gardentextures.com

The “Eye” of Editing

Most people know what proofreading is—reading through a document to look for and correct any misspellings or typographical mistakes.

However, not many people know what it is like to take advantage of the skills of an Editor.

An Editor looks at your document with a different set of “eyes.” Yes, she looks for the same types of general errors that a proofreader does, but then goes the extra mile. At the very least, editors check for grammar errors and awkward sentences. At their best, editors help you say what you want to say, better than you have written it.

The easiest method of explaining working with an editor, is to show you—I am working on a website with a client that is new to the internet. He would like to use his website as an informational business card or an expanded “Yellow Pages” ad.

The following example is of a portion of the text he has provided for his biography:
Dr. Colter moved to Huntersville from Iowa and opened his practice in 1993. As the first chiropractor in Huntersville “way back” in 1993, Dr. Colter has seen the tremendous growth of the area over the years and has been an integral part of the community with his involvement in the following organizations:
• Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce
• District Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America for 8 years
• Member of the Optimist Club
• Sponsor of the Huntersville Youth Athletic Association

Here is the edited version of that text:
Dr. Colter moved here from Iowa and opened his practice in 1993. As the first chiropractor in Huntersville “way back” then, Dr. Colter has experienced the tremendous growth of this area. Over the years, he has been an integral part of the community through his involvement in the following organzations:
• Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce
• District Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America for 8 years
• Member of the Optimist Club
• Sponsor of the Huntersville Youth Athletic Association

Thank you to Dr. Colter and the HFC staff for your permission to share this example!

Thanks for sharing a few minutes with me.
Ellen

Ellen Wass Beckerman
Writer/Photographer/Graphic Designer
Photography portfolio: www.istockphoto.com/zmacgal
www.gardentextures.com