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Tash
Poor spelling impacts on your content
Quality content is more than the message – it also has to be presented in a way that is easy for people to read and understand.
Many people will tell you that the message is more important than spelling or grammar – and it is, but only to a point. A great message is lost if the spelling and grammar are poor.
Last night, I saw a page on a website that shows how important spelling can be – as even one wrong letter can make a big difference.
We make real-estate CD’s. [Business] can also make and host your web site, with promotion as the key fucus.
Using a u instead of an o is not just a typo we can ignore – the new word is too close to another word and that is what now catches our attention – not the original message.
It also changed the reader’s interpretation of the ‘presenting in a unique way’ in the following sentence, creating giggles instead of interest in their professional services.
It comes back to proofreading your work – not just a quick glance or use of a spell check, but a genuine check of what you have written. And the best proof reading is done a day or so after the writing or by another person. The quality of your content will improve through this simple process and maintaining a ‘focus’.
I see this error quite frequently. Especially, when I read a book. I struggle constantly to keep my letters and blogs error free. But we as a society don’t practice good grammar or spelling. It is getting really hard to know the difference anymore. I feel like an idiot sometimes. I took English classes and did very well. But now, I do not know certain word spellings without looking them up.
Hi Classy_ally and thanks for dropping by!
I don’t think you (or anyone else) is an idiot for looking up the spelling of words – I do it myself on occasion. There are a LOT of words to know in English, and many we don’t use very often. It is also hard to be sure of how to spell a word when you see it misspelt (or done in another spelling convention like color vs colour). The fact you look it up says you care about details and communicating effectively which shows positive traits 🙂
We’re all human and mistakes are made – that’s what proof reading and editing are for!
You should’ve done a proofreading of your own material! 1) How, not who
2) color vs colour
John
Thanks for visiting the blog and leaving a comment John.
Ah yes, even the best of us make mistakes! I can’t see an issue with how/who but I did have colour vs colour so I have corrected that now thanks.
A reminder of how important spell check is (both software and manually). Even if you are typing a simple word document for others to view, you should proof read it so that avoidable situations may not occur. Good Post!
Thanks ranjitgeorge 🙂
It is mistakes like this that truly remind us of the value of proof reading!
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In formal and paid writing, the thing I hate seeing the most are spelling errors. These are because they are often the easiest to spot and the existence of spelling errors just show how poorly the written work was reviewed before it was published or released. Before, when I was still editing, I warn my writers that too many spelling errors make them look lazy because they cannot even proofread properly and just submit sub-par work.
I agree – poor spelling just doesn’t give anyone a good impression.
We’re all human and make mistakes (and my typing means I make a spelling errors in a first draft!) but that’s why proof reading is all about really.