I probably should have posted this before my students had a paper due, but they all have more to come. I actually was saving this article, and reminded of it as I read yet another paper that talked about a “trail” instead of a “trial.” Sigh Sigh Sigh. According to this article, I am not alone.
People, spell check isn’t enough.
10 Comments
Zach Barnard posted on October 3, 2012 at 2:05 pm
I must admit, I went back and searched my paper for “trail” after the fact to see if I was at fault. This article is so true! Spell check is spell check, not proofreading.
Lipi Thaker posted on October 3, 2012 at 9:29 pm
I completely agree with this article. My English teacher in my freshmen year of high school was a grammar afficionado – not only did she emphasize it in our work, but we had two grammar books and weekly quizzes. It was awful at the time, but it really improved my writing. It bothers me when people are careless about their grammar because it has just as much of an impact as one’s speech. I think grammar is definitely an undervalued subject in elementary school because no one seems to teach it anymore; not well, anyway.
Phi Truong posted on October 3, 2012 at 11:59 pm
Your blog post caused me to go check my paper for any “trails” as well. Fortunately there were none and so you can count on my paper to make you feel more at ease if you do encounter another “trail.” Happy reading professor!
Sandra Tanasijevic posted on October 4, 2012 at 4:20 pm
I have always disliked grammar lessons in my writing classes, but I definitely have to agree with this article. Using correct grammar does not just reflect how well someone can write, but can also reflect the way a person carries themselves. But I am a little scared now that my future employer will give me a grammar test…I should spend time reviewing!
Dan Regner posted on October 5, 2012 at 7:03 pm
I have learned from personal experience that you shouldn’t rely on spell check to catch your mistakes. I have found that proof reading a paper is much better then relying on some software. My friend wrote a great paper that was easily B+ material but he failed to proofread his paper and the professor found many grammatical errors resulting in a B-. My friends mistake made me proofread my papers a lot more and helped me catch many grammatical mistakes over the years. Overall, just going over your paper once can dramatically improve the quality of it.
Stephen Wong posted on October 6, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Details are so important and vital to anything that we write. From business letters to major papers for class, self-check is still an imperative action. While, spell-check is a great modern day tool, it still has its faults because it doesn’t recognize exactly what we’re thinking. Especially in law, grammar mistakes can be detrimental to a case so it’s always important to read slowly and make adjustments, if necessary.
Tom Kokoska posted on October 7, 2012 at 1:38 pm
As someone who has tried their hand at programming, I found the linked articles mention of the thing particularly striking. While someone so invested in the field of computer science as Donald Knuth would no doubt use particularly endearing descriptors when discussing it, I cannot deny that I do agree with his appraisal- that is, that programmers are “essayists who work with traditional aesthetic and literary forms.” In good programming there is not a misplaced or wasted character, an embodiment of precision and concision. I must admit that as a writer I tend to shed both for more flowery verbiage and technical liberty.
Brian Tate posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:03 pm
I was just reading over the comments on my day in court paper and I realize now how much I wish I had read this post first.
Stephanie Castro posted on October 9, 2012 at 7:38 am
I agree completely with this article. When you make silly mistakes you send the wrong message to readers. The reader will think you didn’t care about putting in the time and effort in proofreading and they will most likely not take you seriously.
Dora Mwangi posted on October 17, 2012 at 6:08 pm
I agree with the article. It doesn’t hurt to go back and do a final read or have someone read it for you just to make sure that everything is right.