I recently posted a script that had a massive blacklash of spelling error comments. I am looking for some advice so that I can improve my spelling. the only techique that i know of is rewrite the word 3 times or until you think you memorized it than write a test, that is a good enough techique expect for one thing... I always get realy neverous close to or durring tests and forget everything I learned ! Any advice you have for improving spelling so that I do not relay on spell checkers as much would be greatly appercaited. Thank you in advance for your help.
Well.... The write-it-until-it-sticks method is pretty good. When I was studying Russian that was the method I used. Luckily, Russian is a very sensible language when it comes to spelling. It is not idiosyncratic the way English is. You might also try finding a kindly interested soul to help you with flash card drills. Moms are great for this kind of exercise. Flash card drills are great if you are the kind to get nervous during the actual test because the flash card drill combines some of the pressure that you feel during a test with the study process allowing you to master that nervousness.
There are online "flash cards" as well, and freeware flash card programs you can load with your own vocabulary lists. The problem, however, is how do you present a spelling word for a flash card? The best way is to use an audio prompt, including a sentence for context, and then type in the correct spelling. Words you misspell should go into a "trouble list" for extra repetition. You can help build your trouble list by using spellcheck on your documents, and also add any words that people point out you are misspelling.
I use Word—not sure what you use. Whenever I spell a word incorrectly it gets the little red line. I’ll then go back and figure out how to spell it correctly. I aim to figure out how to spell it rather than just run the spell check. At first, you’ll probably find the same words keep cropping up all the time. But you’ll soon remember how to spell them. I can’t recall your artist piece having lots of spelling errors—the odd one, but not lots. What method did you use for that?
The method I used for The Student Becomes The Artist was to rewrite it repeatdly. Until it sounded right to me and until every word I used I was happy with. Write than take away anything you are unhappy with or can do without than rewrite it. It is very tedous but it has helped me turn out serval peices I am very proud of. The spelling method I used was to first look over myself ( which usaully does not turn up alot ) than to get someone like an english teacher to go over it with me so i can get some feed back and spelling corrections. I do not want to always relay on someone else for spelling corrections so I am looking for alternate ways the online flash cards would be great but, your right you would have to be able to spell the word first. I think I have a solution to that, using spell checker and an online dictanory pick out words I cant spell and put them onto the flash cards.
My suggestion is to just paste all your posts into Word. You can then try to sort out your spelling errors yourself and use the spell checker as a backup. I actually love the rewriting process. The polishing and refining part is my favourite bit.
I will try your sugestion and I think it would a great idea to try. I think my favorite part would be the imaging process. Where your mind runs rampant with ideas of characters and settings and plots. My second favorite is where you start recording these ideas and than begin the writing process. I have to adimt though I am not a fan of the polishing stage. The polishing stage is something I have been working towards getting better at and less resilant towards. I know that unleash I can polish my writing, the peice will never catch the eye of my audience and they will simply move onto the next person showing there more polished works.
Something else you should try is looking at a list of homophones and homographs, words that sounds the same but are spelled differently and words that are spelled the same but mean different things. After you find the list, practice writing the words in sentences. In fact, that's a good way to remember how to spell other words, too. You can make up sentences that have meaning to the spelling. For example: Yes, I would like a piece of pie. Pie in the sentence is to remind you of the order of i and e in the word. The same is true of this: We'll be friends until the end. End is there to help with i and e. You can also break words down to remember them: Connecticut - connect I cut. Even though it sounds cheesy, it can really help to break words down and use other devices to remember. Good luck!
It's a starting point, but it will not find words that, when misspelled, become other correctly-spelled words. Some are simple typos, such as typing sank when you meant shank. But most are misconceptions or usage mistakes: straight jacket should be strait jacket, bare with me should be bear with me, and loose interest usually should be lose interest. Also, the writer needs to know when to use to vs two vs too, and though vs threw. I see a lot of would-be writers who clearly use spelling checkers without knowing how to spell, because their writing contains many spelling errors, all of which are undetectable by spelling checkers. Learning to spell with a spell check program will only take you so far.
Perhaps you could make yourself a weekly list of your spelling mistakes, compiled from the writing you have done over that time. Use the spell check on Word to spot them. Give yourself a maximum of 20 words to learn every week. At a quick glance, you have during nervous usually dictionary except mis-spelled in your posts, which are all high-frequency words, so you'll need to get them right. It seems like you are slightly dyslexic. Perhaps you might like to try to get help from experts in helping with this particular problem?
You say you are worried about your spelling mistakes, but judging by the spelling mistakes (realy, durring) you've made in your post here, I think you are not serious about it. 'Really' and 'during' are very common words.... you don't have to actually learn them using 'spell-learning' methods.... you are likely to come across them every time you read. Yes, English spelling is not straightforward and you have to utilize the good advice others have given to learn the tricky ones. But before that, try a little harder to get the simple and common words right. Pay a little more attention to spelling while reading and while writing if you are not sure look it up.... next time you'll get it. Edit: I am sorry if I sounded harsh...... I just wanted to help you
^ A bit harsh, but very true. This same concept shows its face in other ways. You really should not have two standards for your spelling and grammar. You should not think, "Oh, this is just a net post. Whatever. No big deal if there are mistakes." We (the greater we) have a habit of allowing a loose, incorrect manner when it comes to language when we are participating in casual activities. What happens when we have to be correct, when presentation matters? We've not practiced, we've not reinforced what the correct way is and thus we are left not knowing when the time comes to apply ourselves. You really should only have one standard. Correct use of spelling, grammar, and syntax at all times.
I use this method pretty much. I have no limit of the number of words but I also take the words that I have listed, I use the thesaurus to find new words to use and I also use word or adobe to search my document to see how many times I use a particular word. This may help to keep things fresh. Using the dictionary takes more time and would work better once you have a spell checker program identify the most commonly misspelled words. And what could it hurt to have more than just one definition of a word. Just think of how many words mean different things depending on how and when they are used. Hope I contributed something to this already great post. V/R BS76 Oh and I couldn't spell my way out of a wet paper bag so don't let it slow you down. Also one more note about spell checker programs. They will not always catch everything. This depends on what dictionary (s) the program was based on. Word just skipped over the word "mu" which was a typo for "my" and it said Mu was correct so please don't depend entirely on the software for finaly proofing.
That, of course, is all true. Yes, it would only be a starting point. This reminds me of something rather amusing. In a book I read on editing, the author admitted that in an earlier edition, he'd meant to use the word public. Unfortunately, he wrote pubic... I think we can expect a lower standard on a forum. Not sloppy, but the odd typo or missed comma can be excused. We all make them on here (there is a comma slice in your post). In Cog’s post he has used a very questionable hyphen (correctly-spelled words)—every style guide and general book on grammar I have says DO NOT hyphenate when one of the modifiers is an adverb. In one of my posts, I said “spell checker” (two words) rather than “spellchecker” (one word). I think we should aim for a decent standard, but not perfection. Not on a forum. We've all got proper writing to do!
I think you've stretched my point to an extreme I've really not mentioned. (And yes, I see my comma splice now.)
The chances are that I am as I have some other disabilities such as Aspburgers. I doubt very much I would seek medical help for being dyslexic even if I am. The spelling list is a good plan and I plan to put it to use.
Brandon, through your posts, it is apparent that your spelling problems are pretty deep. First of all, don't be dismayed over that. I had a friend who, the first time I visited her at her office, I had to laugh because it was SO obvious which desk was hers. That would be the one with the "Poor Spellers Dictionary" on it! Brilliant woman, just couldn't spell worth a darn. I have studied several languages (Why, I don't know. I'm still trying to master the first one!) But the flash card process works wonderfully. It won't help with things like 'then'/'than', however. Those are things you simply have to learn by rote (memorization). That, or you could just make a "Poor Spellers Dictionary" your best friend! Also, Madhoca is probably right about the dyslexia - or some other perception related issue. If you have not been tested, you should be.
________________________________________ I recently posted a script that had a massive blacklash of spelling error comments. I am looking for some advice so that I can improve my spelling. the only techique that i know of is rewrite the word 3 times or until you think you memorized it than write a test, that is a good enough techique expect for one thing... I always get realy neverous close to or durring tests and forget everything I learned ! Any advice you have for improving spelling so that I do not relay on spell checkers as much would be greatly appercaited. Thank you in advance for your help. ***************************** Your errors blacklash, techique, realy, neverous, appercaited Firstly, many words are phonetic, so that may help with ‘neverous’. If you break the word down, you have ‘never’ & ‘ous’, which clearly is not correct. The same applies to your misspelled ‘apper-caited. And your misspelled tech-ique. When you say technique, you can hear the ‘N’ so, therefore there must be an ‘N’ in it somewhere. Blacklash, I think probably with this word you just do not understand the word. It is back + lash. Back as in after. Realy, there is a rule for this sort of word. The correct spelling is really. When you want to add ‘ly’ to a word, do just that. So, here are some examples … Real + ly = really Correct + ly = correctly true + ly = truly thankful + ly = thankfully So you can see, some words ending in ly have a double ‘L’ because the original word had an ‘L’ already. With words ending in double ‘L’ ,such as full, you only add a ‘Y’ because otherwise that would just be SILLLY (sic). Exceptions to rules apply with everything but I hope this helps. I also hope, in my efforts to explain, I have not misspelled anything.
Well except for words that sound the same but spelt differently I tend to find that sounding words out in your head or otherwise then reading them to make sure they sound like how they are spelt avoids most spelling mistakes. Requires minimal effort and yields maximum results. Is spelt a word? It's got a red line below it.
