1. heyharris1

    heyharris1 New Member

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    i've come to a conclusion.

    Discussion in 'Revision and Editing' started by heyharris1, Aug 25, 2008.

    As i have been writing i have been using microsoft word as a spell checker. well last night i printed out a couple chapters, sat down and actually read it on paper. there is alot of mistakes a spell checker will not catch. before i was done the paper was all marked up and just looked ugly. quess you cant just replace a human with a computer after all.
    jim
     
  2. Ungood

    Ungood New Member

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    Nope..

    That is why we have review forums! :D
     
  3. Lucy E.

    Lucy E. Active Member

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    Agreed. The MS Word Spellchecker is unreliable.
     
  4. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    However, human proofreaders miss a lot too. Your best bet is to do a run with a spellchecker, and follow that up with you best proofreading. Be sure that when you have done all that, there is still a high probability that you have missed some errors.

    Also, double check your "minor" corrections. They are very likely to contain errors. I'm very guilty of introducing typos on these "brush ups."
     
  5. rlroberts7

    rlroberts7 New Member

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    its better than nothing... and provides a decent spell check.
     
  6. Ungood

    Ungood New Member

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    if I did not have spell check I would die.
     
  7. captain kate

    captain kate Senior Member

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    you ain't kidding, ungood, I'd died too!
     
  8. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    Spell check we'll knot ketchup with sum miss spelled words. LOL (It did catch the "LOL")
     
  9. tehuti88

    tehuti88 New Member

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    I've known for years that relying on spellcheck isn't a good idea. :/ Even before I read that it wasn't a good idea! Perhaps because my (fantasy) writing has so many odd words and such.

    Nothing beats good old proofreading AND access to a good dictionary/thesaurus. And the willingness to look up an iffy word even when you're 99% (but not 100%) sure it's right.

    --Tehuti, who has seen too many examples of words where the writers really should have looked them up before trying to spell them out on their own...ugh.
     
  10. Milady

    Milady Active Member

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    I've been leery of spell check ever since I realized that it just won't learn my last name....
     
  11. TwinPanther13

    TwinPanther13 New Member

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    I Love spell check. It has saved my butt a more than once. I believe that spell check plus human eye is the best way to go.
     
  12. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Spellcheck is my friend. I am the world's worst speller (in English.)

    I am also a card-carying proponant for spelling reform for the English language!
     

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