• Wake up to spelling. Pay attention to how words are spelled. As you read, as you write, as you talk to people, and as you listen, pay attention to how words are configured -letter by letter, syllable by syllable.

• Sloppy spellers are spell-blind. They do not see words. They do not understand that correct spelling goes hand in hand with convincing writing. Nor have they learned to pay attention to letter patterns.

• Don't be spell-blind. Open your eyes; sharpen your mind. Think spelling. Respect skillful spelling. Raise your personal expectations for producing error-free spelling.

• A frequent cause of misspellings is mispronunciation. We usually spell as we pronounce, and if we say goverment, sophmore, nucular, Febuary, and athalete, chances we will spell them that way-incorrectly. As you shake off your spell-blindness, pay careful attention to how words are pronounced.

• The responsible writer carries a dictionary at all times-and uses it constantly. The writer's spelling motto is: When in doubt, check it out. Don't guess. Don't assume.

• Shortcuts, in the long run, are inefficient. It takes much less time to look up a word than to explain away spelling blunders and professional carelessness.

• Usually, there is a pattern to spelling mistakes. Keep an inventory of your spelling errors. You'll begin to see which errors keep recurring - which rules you keep breaking.

• Devise a system that works for you-a chart with several columns, say, in which you match a misspelled word with its corrected version and the rule (if there is one) that applies. This way you'll trigger awareness of where you tend to slip up, so you can practice systematically.

• Stretch your word power by learning new words, how they are used in context, and how they are spelled. Notice which spelling rules apply to them.

• Practice using new words in sentences and try them out in speech while seeing in your mind's eye how they are spelled.

• Proofread with the care of a detective poring over possible clues. Remember: When you write, you get so immersed in the process that you do not see your own errors. Take a break after finishing a piece. Return to it with fresh eyes.

• Run the piece through a spell-check program, but don't rely on it; spell-check can't determine context. Become your own best spell-checker.

• People often learn best when they have to teach the material in question. Teach someone the following rules to spell by as you learn them yourself.

Rules to Spell By

Rule #1: ie & ei

Remember this spelling jingle from grade school?

i before e, except after c or when used as a, as in neighbor or weigh

Simple-sounding? Yes. And if you memorize it, you'll have a powerful tool for one of the most troublesome of spelling problems in the English language: the ie/ei mix-up.

Let's look at the jingle more closely.

• Usually, i comes before e (chief, pierce, and field).
• But in some words i comes after c (receive, perceive, receive).

And if the two letters are pronounced a (as in tray), usually e comes before i, as in neighbor, weigh, sleigh, eight.

Rule #2: Prefixes

Root words don't change if they are preceded by prefixes:

     mis + shapen = misshapen

     dis + belief = disbelief

     ex + communicate = excommunicate

     mis + spelling = misspelling

Rule #3: Suffixes

A suffix is an ending. When adding a suffix to words that end with a silent e, keep in mind these two principles:

1. When the suffix begins with a vowel, (usually) drop the e:

          dive + ing = diving
          believe = believable

2. when the suffix begins with a consonant, (usually) keep the e:

Rule #4: Doubling the Final Consonant

Sometimes the last letter of a word is doubled when adding a suffix.

1. Before adding the ending, double the last letter of a word . . . if the word is only one syllable long, if it ends in a consonant, and if one vowel comes before the consonant.

• run + ing = running
• plan + ed = planned

2. Don't double the last letter before adding an ending . . . if the word ends in two consonants, or if there are two vowels before the final consonant.

• grasp + ing = grasping
• lead + ing = leading

3. In two-syllable words, double the last letter if

• it is a consonant (fatal = fatally);


• you accent the last syllable when you say the word (preFER + ed = preferred)

Rule #5: Plurals

Plurals have many forms. Six sections follow, which deal with the main kinds of plural forms: A) about s and es; B) about special changes; C) about no changes, D) about special endings, E) about combined words, and F) about letters, numbers, and abbreviations.

A) About s and es:

1. Usually plurals are made by adding s:

2. Add es to words ending in ch, sh, ss, x, z:

3. When a word ends in y and the y follows a consonant, change the y to i and add es:

4. When a word ends in y and the y follows a vowel, add s:

5. When a word ends in o and the o comes after a vowel, usually add an s:

6. When a word ends in o and the o comes after a consonant, add es:

7. Some words ending in f or fe change f to v before adding s or es:

8. Some words ending in f or fe keep the f in the plural form

B) Special Changes to Plurals Some words change considerably to form plurals (consult a dictionary):

C) No Changes

1. Some words remain the same in both singular and plural forms:

      sheep        deer        series

2. Some words are always plural

       people        cattle        rice

D) Special Endings

Some words (especially those transferred from foreign languages) form plurals in unusual ways:

Adds s to the base word to form plurals of combination words:

           mother-in-law = mothers-in-law
           editor-in-chief = editors-in-chief

F) Letters, Numbers, and Abbreviations

Add 's to show the plural of a letter, number, or abbreviation:

Rule #6: Homophones (Sound Alikes)

Sometimes we are fooled by homophones - words that sound alike or nearly alike but have different meanings:

To cope with homophones, (1) learn to pronounce these words carefully to allow for slight nuances of difference in spelling, and (2) study them - learning the differences among them to eliminate all errors in use.

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