SPELLING
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I. TIPS 1) consult a DICTIONARY if you are unsure of the spelling 2) correctly use the SPELLCHECKER tool provided with most word processing programs · in Microsoft Word, look under “TOOLS” or simply hit the “F7” key · Word will also underline in red words not listed in its dictionary 3) learn TRICKY WORDS:
II. TRICKY WORDS
A) HOMOPHONES (words that sound the same but are spelled differently): o *its/it’s: § its=possessive pronoun, does NOT need apostrophe, as in belonging to it § it’s=contraction for it is or it has, BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing o *than/then: § than=used for comparisons, as in “My car is dirtier than yours.” § then=adverb, as in next, as in “Then, I went to my next class.” also in if-then sentences, as in “If you do not learn these rules now, then you will receive bad grades on your essays.” o were/where/wear: § were=linking verb § where=adverb, as in place, as in “Where did you come from?” § wear=verb, as in wear clothes o there/their: § there=adverb, as in over there or “There was a fly on the wall.” § their=possessive pronoun, as in belonging to a group of people § they’re=contraction for they are, BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing o your/you’re: § your=possessive pronoun, as in belonging to you § you’re=contraction for you are, BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing o who’s/whose: § who’s=contraction for who is, BUT you will not be using this because there are no contractions in formal academic writing § whose=possessive pronoun, as in belonging to whom, as in “Whose book is this?” o too/to/two: § too=intensifier, as in too much/many, in excess—so it has an excess of o’s, as in “I ate too much.” Also means “also,” as in “I want some, too.” § to=preposition, starts prep. phrases and infinitives, as in “I went to the store to buy milk.” § two=the number 2 o threw/through: § threw=verb, as in “The pitcher threw the ball to the first-baseman.” § through=preposition, as in “The ghost walked through the wall.”
B) TROUBLESOME PAIRS (not “PEARS”): o accept/except: § accept=to receive; § except=excluding o affect/effect: § affect=verb, to act upon OR to have an effect upon; § effect=noun only, a change caused by an action o allude/elude: § allude=to make reference to; § elude=to escape/avoid o bear/bare: § bear=noun, animal OR verb, to carry; § bare=unadorned o capital/capitol: § capital=government seat or material wealth or uppercase letter; § capitol=a building housing a government seat o cite/sight/site: § cite=to make mention of or to quote as an example; § sight=something seen or one of the five senses; § site=a place or location (website) o complement/compliment: § complement=something that finishes, goes with, completes (subject complement); § compliment=to praise or flatter o conscience/conscious: § conscience=noun, moral compass; § conscious=adjective, aware, awake o coarse/course: § coarse=rough; § course=class OR route taken o counsel/council: § counsel=noun, advice OR noun, a lawyer OR verb, to advise; § council=a deliberative body o desert/dessert: § desert=noun, barren land OR verb, to abandon; § dessert=noun, after-dinner treat o elicit/illicit: § elicit=verb, to bring out; § illicit=adjective, illegal, unlawful o fair/fare: § fair=adjective, just, reasonable OR noun, festival, carnival; § fare=noun, ticket price OR noun, food OR verb, to get along o later/latter: § later=adverb, refers to a future time § latter=refers to the second of the two o lead/led: § lead=present tense of the verb, to guide OR noun, a heavy metal or graphite in a pencil § led=past tense of the verb (pronounced like the noun) o loose/lose: § loose=adjective, baggy, not tight; § lose=verb, to misplace OR verb, to fail to win o moral/morale: § moral=adjective, virtuous, good OR noun, lesson taught by a story § morale=noun, mood, spirit, mental condition o patience/patients: § patience=state of calmly waiting; § patients=plural noun of person receiving medical care o personal/personnel: § personal=adjective, private OR adjective, individual; § personnel=noun, staff, workers o peace/piece: § peace=serenity; § piece=a part of a bigger portion o plain/plane: § plain=adjective, unadorned, simple OR noun, level land; § plane=short for airplane OR carpenter’s tool OR level surface o principal/principle: § principal=noun, head of school OR noun, sum of money; § principle=basic law or guideline o quiet/quite: § quiet=adjective, silent, still § quite=adverb, completely, entirely OR adverb, very, considerably o stationary/stationery: § stationary=adjective, in a fixed position, immobile § stationery=noun, writing supplies and especially paper o straight/strait:
o than/then: § than=used in comparison; § then=adverb, next o wear/where: § wear=verb, to dress, put on clothes OR to erode; § where=location o weather/whether: § weather=noun, climate; § whether=if
III. Learn SPELLING RULES
· A) i before e, except after c:
Write i before e Except after c Or when sounded like "ay" As in neighbor and weigh. o ie words: believe, brief, chief, field, hierarchy, niece, obedient, relief, yield o ei words: ceiling, conceit, conceive, deceive, perceive, receive, receipt, vein o exceptions to the rule: ancient, caffeine, conscience, science, counterfeit, forfeit, either, neither, financier, feisty, foreign, heist, height, (weight), leisure, seize, seismic, sheik, species, efficient, sufficient, weird
· B) PREFIXES: o prefixes are letters added to the beginning of words o when adding a prefix, retain the spelling of the root word o common prefixes and their meanings:
· C) SUFFIXES: o suffixes are letters added to the end of words o double the root word’s final consonant if: § the root word ends in a consonant AND § a single vowel comes before the consonant AND § the root word is one syllable or the last syllable is stressed § rappelled, controlling, recurrence, hittable o do not double the root word’s final consonant if: § the root word ends in 2 consonants (lifting, reminded) OR § 2 vowels come before the consonant (heading, repeated) OR § the last syllable is not stressed (focused, traveled, labeling) o drop the final e from the root word if: § the suffix begins with a vowel § fatal, opportunity, Grecian o do not drop the final e if: § the e is preceded by a c (enforceable, noticeable) OR § a soft g (advantageous, courageous ) OR § the suffix begins with a consonant (subtlety, fortunately, appeasement) § exceptions: (acknowledgment, judgment, truly, wholly, argument) o if the root word ends with a consonant + y, then change the y to i: § beautiful, craziness, glorify, hungriest o exceptions: § if the suffix begins with an I, keep the , keep the y (studying) o if the root word ends with a vowel + y, then retain the y: § payment, staying, boyhood, annoyance o exceptions: § daily, gaiety, laid, laity, paid, said
· *common suffixes*: 1. NOUN SUFFIXES
2. ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES
3. VERB SUFFIXES
· D) PLURALS: o see "plurals" under the NOUNS section above (follow link)
IV. Realize the LIMITS of SPELLCHECKERS · homophones · missing words · proper nouns · technical jargon (and other words not included in its database) · misspelled word is actually another word · you have used the wrong word · you have used apostrophes incorrectly
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