Good spelling is vital to good written communication. If someone is bad at spelling words, the person will not be able to do very well in writing, whether in essay, letter, comprehension or summary aspect. As a matter of fact, any student guilty of this is bound to be losing marks too cheaply.
In an exam such as the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), candidates are penalised for poor spelling, meaning that marks are deducted due to spelling errors. This is apart from the fact that, even outside examination situations, poor spelling exposes one to ridicule and it is capable of robbing one of opportunities, including socio-economic ones such as employment. If you write an application letter for a job, and such is riddled with spelling errors, you are not likely to go far. Also, on social media, poor spelling is an anathema, as it subjects even celebrities to viral mockery.
Causes of spelling blunders
Poor reading culture
If you do not read widely and consistently, you will not be exposed to a great deal of words particularly in terms of their components. So, you must cultivate an inspiring reading habit and pay attention to spellings of terms, especially those you usually miss or are not familiar with. As is generally said, the reader is the leader, both in terms of knowledge and the art of writing.
Carelessness
Many people write poorly because they are careless, especially whenever writing. It may be that they are not focused, or they do not invest attention in what they are doing. As a result, they end up committing avoidable spelling errors. Such fellows could write stande instead of stand or blakboard instead of blackboard.
Failure to proofread
You must always ensure you read over your work before submitting it to the appropriate quarters. When you do so, you will be able to eliminate mix-ups and omissions, and pay extra attention to words you are likely to have misspelt. In the process of proofreading, you may discover you wrote bot instead of but!
Poor time management causes spelling errors. You must always plan your time well, based on the time allocated to the exam, and time allocated to each question. What one finds out often is that a lot of candidates spend too much time on particular sections, and are thus forced to rush through the remaining parts. In such a situation, spelling errors are bound to occur. Also, when you are required to participate in an essay or literary competition – or prepare a correspondence, say, in an office situation – do the work on time. Don’t wait till the deadline is too close, to avoid rushing and thus spelling words upside down.
Overgeneralisation
Another factor that fuels bad spelling is overgeneralisation. Many, in this context, could think that since we have ‘enunciate’, there must be expantiate, whereas ‘n’ should not be included in the latter. Some also write ‘pronounciation’ since we have ‘pronounce’, but there should be no ‘n’ in the noun. We have pronounce, but pronunciation. Similarly, the error in maintainance and sustainance are a product of overgenaralisation as it derives from the knowledge of how we spell maintain and sustain.
Laziness
Laziness is another factor. Many people are too lazy to consult their dictionaries even when they doubt the spellings of certain words. This should be rebuked as dictionaries are our loyal and ever-willing friends. Don’t forget that, with mobile phones and the Internet everywhere now, dictionaries are very, very close to us.
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