Using a spell checker when you’re writing is a great idea, right? Or is it?
An American professor reminded about the shortcomings of using a spell checker in a poem he penned. It contains no errors in spelling and yet, it just isn’t right.
‘I have’, for example, is written ‘Eye halve’ and ‘plainly’ as ‘plane lee’.
The poem, written by Professor Jerrold H. Zar of Northern Illinois University, begins:
Eye halve a spelling check her
It came with my pea sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye kin knot sea
Interesting, so a spell checker doesn’t always get it right, an innocent mistake. Except someone might notice. Sadly, someone usually does.
If your spell checker can’t be trusted, what should you do?
At the JMP Writing Coach, we suggest a two-step approach; first, reread your words carefully and then, use a spell checker in case you missed something. Sometimes, an error is only obvious when it’s shown to you by another. Nuisance, about that.