<p>I cringe every time I read posts with misspelled words from the top shelf kids on CC. Though according to the Art of Spelling by Marilyn Vos Savant, it is a myth that good spelling is a measure of intelligence or education. Remember to proofread applications and essays more than once!</p>
<p>;) Madison just wanted to add a little story to illustrate your point. Last spring D was applying for a leadership camp. She is a very bright kid with horrible spelling. I proofread and discovered that rather than “two point deficit” she had written “two point defecate” Can you imagine the response to that mistake!</p>
<p>HAHA - funny illustration, good thing you caught that!</p>
<p>Yes, I’m amazed at all the typos.</p>
<p>“I here the work is really tough at State U.”</p>
<p>“I sure hope your ready to do some hard work.”</p>
<p>“It’s campus is really pretty.”</p>
<p>The one and only time I called the poster on it, his/her response was to lash out at me.</p>
<p>So fuggedaboudit…no more corrections…enjoy submitting your unproofed essay!</p>
<p>There is a blog that I follow by a formerly elite runner who I really respect and admire. However, I was somewhat shocked to read a post that he wrote recently claiming that the people saying that he left Rice due to academic reasons were wrong, because he went on to graduate from UHouston “suma cum laude”. Scary. Could have been a typo, but other writings indicate probably not… That said, not everyone is a speller or even a writer. It sure helps, though.</p>
<p>^^^^^^</p>
<p>Um…do you mean “elite runner WHOM [you] really respect and admire”?</p>
<p>Ooops! I forgot! No more corrections! That’s it! I’m done!</p>
<p>As an adult I am constantly amazed that when I write with a different font that I actually have to look up words to check my spelling because the words don’t look correct just because the font is different. I usually have a dictionary close by when posting!</p>
<p>What writers who can’t spell or won’t proofread don’t realize is that typos and misspellings interfere with the reader’s understanding. Many times I’ve had to go back and re-read a post because the mistakes of your/you’re, to/too, their/they’re/their and here/hear have rendered the original sentence completely unreadable.</p>
<p>I think the proliferation of texting and online chat abbreviations has something to do with kids’ unconcern with being understood.</p>
<p>[100</a> MOST OFTEN MISPELLED MISSPELLED WORDS IN ENGLISH](<a href=“http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html]100”>http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html)</p>
<p>heyalb- you got me! The who/whom thing messes me up if I’m not paying attention. :)</p>
<p>I hate when I misspell something- I am a terrible speller so I try to watch. Reading something where you misspelled a word but did not catch it prior to hitting the send button is embarrassing. </p>
<p>I am also weak in grammar. I try but I do not have a strong background. My years in high school that was not the focus. I think it was a big mistake.</p>
<p>I sponsor a student publication to which staff can submit information. After getting a few gentle emails from alert readers, I realized that my kids were cutting and pasting notices from staff (including faculty) without checking them for spelling and grammar. I had to remind them to read everything carefully, and make necessary corrections, regardless of the source. And privately, I did some major eye-rolling and shaking my head…</p>
<p>The no-name avatar is to help protect the guilty… :-)</p>
<p>I don’t mind typos on CC, and misspellings are ok if obviously a result of haste or inattention. There are a few words I never get right unless I look them up and sometimes on CC I’m just too lazy. Even tho I hate to see my own errors preserved in print!</p>
<p>What I do hate is misuse of homophonic spellings. Sometimes people use words or expressions they’ve never seen in print or don’t know the etymology of, so you have confusions such as vile/vial, accepted/excepted, “orderves,” etc. Such errors instantly point the writer out as not very well-read.</p>
<p>(I am talking about native English speakers here.)</p>
<p>When S was in elementary school, there was such an emphasis on writing as verbal expression, with no consequence for or correction of grammatical errors. I thought it was a huge mistake, and more than once I corrected the teacher’s comments for the same type of error. Some of the brightest academic professionals I know amaze me with the language flaws in their e-mail writing…I try to catch everything, but know I fail…still…we must try. And what about the terrible mistakes in the usage of the reflexive pronoun…ARGH!</p>
<p>I broke a finger a long time ago, and I began typing “creatively.” I never relearned correct typing technique, and I am always making atrocious mistakes as a result. (You will often see my edits due to “terrible spelling”) I carefully proofread business correspondence, but I confess that I am not as conscientious in more casual exchanges, such as these.</p>
<p>Loved the list of most commonly misspelled words in Post #8 above. Noticed that “acquit” is on the list; I especially hate it when jurors misspell this word as “guilty”.</p>
<p>I will admit I am a terrible speller, but my typing will be the death of me. I still look at my fingers when I type and still make mistakes. When in a hurry to post, I will type and then not proofread, only to see my error later when reading other responses. As an adult with learning disabilities it is frustrating for me to get my thought across in written words. When you see my posts, just realize they come from a women that can’t spell, can’t type, was never good at grammar and doesn’t proofread! There, you have my apology ;-)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t judge these kids’ orthography from an online forum. Many kids do not consider posting on this site to be “official” writing, and therefore either do not check their posts for errors at all, or are extremely lax in their syntax and spelling.</p>
<p>That being said, I am a stickler for spelling, and it bothers me to no end that people make the most ridiculous errors, the worst being homophones: reins/reigns, it’s/its, hear/here. How appalling.</p>
<p>However, “hors d’oeuvres” is not on my list of words everyone should know. I give kudos for knowing how to spell it, but my opinion of you is not lowered if you misspell it.</p>
<p>I admit that I make the terribly irritating error of omitting words from sentences or leaving off key suffixes. To be honest, the first sentence of this post originally read: “I would judge these kids…”</p>
<p>its a test to keep english teachers employed
its a test to slow down speed readers
its a test to trip up mothers
its a test to see if we can keep english fresh and evolving.</p>
<p>its a way to Bushize the language.</p>
<p>^^
No, it’s a test.</p>
<p>:sigh:</p>
<p>The your/you’re thing really bothers me. And at the beginning of Jon & Kate Plus 8, Kate has the line “but it’s our life” and she SAYS “but it’s ARE life”. I flinch every single time I hear it!</p>