How To Improve Your Spelling

I love to write and I am an avid reader but I can’t spell my way out of a wet paper bag. For some unknown reason, I have difficulty actually seeing words. The letters seem to melt together in some words and it is often difficult for me to recognize misspelled words at a glance. There are ways to improve spelling, but for someone like me, it isn’t easy.

One way to improve spelling is to avoid relying on your memory. I learned how to spell through rote memorization when I was a child. I never learned how to spell phonetically. Ironically, I tend to spell according to what I hear. It is very hard for me to spell words like promiscuous correctly. Promiscuous is a difficult word because I hear “permiscious” when someone says it.

Since I have such auditory processing issues, I have found it nearly impossible to improve spelling without assistance. There are a number of ways to address spelling issues like auditory processing problems and issues like visual processing problems. Both the auditory and visual obstacles have hindered my efforts to improve spelling, but there are ways to overcome them.

I never rely on what I see and this has helped me improve spelling. Sometimes I will see a word that is misspelled and I don’t recognize that it is misspelled because I “fix” it when I read. I also have trouble seeing the difference between a correctly spelled word and one that is incorrect. When spell check flags the words I misspell, I immediately look at the suggestions. I often had trouble telling the difference between my word and the correct word.

When you work to improve spelling while writing, always work with a dictionary. Sometimes spell check is not very reliable and I have often spelled words so poorly that spell check does not have suggestions. Keeping a real dictionary on hand is a great way to insure that you will find the correct word and the correct meaning. The dictionary is a great crutch.

Proofreading is crucial. Words that pass by inspection while you are in the midst of writing may stand out like a sore thumb at a second glance. I have found that I am better able to recognize spelling mistakes if I look at the words with fresh eyes. This approach is effective to improve spelling because I do not have the word in my head in advance when I read with fresh eyes.

These three tips have helped me improve spelling when I write. It is good practice to keep a dictionary on hand and conduct at least two spell checks. However, the most valuable way to improve spelling is to have a fresh pair of eyes look at the writing. Either put the work away for a few hours and read it again, or have someone else read the writing for you. Nothing works better to improve spelling than a fresh pair of eyes.