Thread: Why spelling is important.

This is a topic that has been mentioned, on occasion, to bloggers and others who have written e-books or websites and want feedback.

Namely, that if you put your work out there and want to be perceived as professional, you need to write properly.

Or, you need to hire someone to edit your crud so that you can get your message across without turning off the reader.

We hang out on the tripadvisor forums to help travelers, and here is a GREAT example (posted today) of how an earnest assessment can become ridiculous when spelling is bad:

I had the lemon chicken as my main course and I have had more meet off of a KFC drumstick! the cost of my chicken was around $25 on the 12 of july 2008 and I felt like for the amout of food and the price the food sould have had some flavor but it was definetly bland and uninspiring. stay away form the artisan bread unless you like paying $8 for 6 peices of bread that would normaly come with just getting a table anywhere else. the only reason i would ever go back here is for the few good desterts that they did have like creme brlee, beary tart and their cheese course. originaly I had reaserched another restaraunt nearby and when i walked in here i had a feeling that this wasnt it , I should have gone with my instincts and left. If you find yourself in the same situation the place you are looking for may be right next door. (as it was in my case)

I did keep reading after I hit the first few snags, but my respect for the writer diminished significantly.

Sadly, their lowball score is what tripadvisor uses, so the damage will be done, spelling or no.

So here goes: How many of you think I'm just being Obsessive Compulsive here?

When you write something online, how important is spelling/grammar to you?

Do you feel that others make too much of this?

-Russ H.

PS Just for fun: How many spelling errors can you find in the review above?

Russ you aren't OCD ... you bring to light a problem I see more and more. Now, I admit I make spelling errors all the time ... however, these horrific diatribes are more common than not and it isn't just spelling ...

Improper capitalization / No capitalization
No use of periods
No use of commas

Just look at the comments on most blogs ... most write in this unfinished fashion. Web 2.0 has struck a light on the grammatically deficient.


Now if I wrote this instead, would anyone take me seriously?

Russ you aren't ocd you bring to light a problem I see more and more now i admit i make spelling errors all the time however these horrific diatribes are more common than not and it isn't just spelling improper capitalization no capitalization no use of periods o use of commas just look at the comments on most blogs most write in this unfinished fashion web 2.0 has struck a light on the grammatically deficient

I think in forums and such typos will happen, but the example above is painful to read. sorry, I might have been willing to count before I started reading, but I'm not going to read it again.

I don't think you're off base, words have meaning. I am often derailed when someone even misuses a word in conversation because I know what it means and that's the direction my mind follows. Sometimes I can just chuckle to myself and sometimes I am thoroughly confused.

I'm guilty in forums of my fingers moving slower than my mind moves and a proof read can often be a good idea. I also appreciate reading good writing.

Originally Posted by PhxMJ

Now if I wrote this instead, would anyone take me seriously?

Russ you aren't ocd you bring to light a problem I see more and more now i admit i make spelling errors all the time however these horrific diatribes are more common than not and it isn't just spelling improper capitalization no capitalization no use of periods o use of commas just look at the comments on most blogs most write in this unfinished fashion web 2.0 has struck a light on the grammatically deficient

Yes, but only because you used the term "diatribe"...

Seriously, when someone can't communicate, I often chalk it up to laziness (they either didn't bother to learn, or don't bother to be rigorous about what they did learn). And if someone is going to be lazy, they probably won't succeed anyway, so I'm not going to waste my time.

That said, sometimes poor communication is more attributable to language barrier, and that's completely different. If someone is attempting to learn a new language, that's the opposite of laziness, and I'll go out of my way to try to decipher the info and help.

Now that I think about it, perhaps my desire for rigor in this area comes from the fact that I wrote software for a long time...when you write software, one misplaced semi-colon can ruin your whole week...

Poor spelling in certain venues I can handle. I understand that not everyone is a fantastic speller, and that's okay on in certain venues. ...But there is a difference between being a poor speller and just not caring. Russ' example illustrates the point of someone just not caring.

Frankly, to me writing is an expression of who you are- and matters just as much as your appearance if not more so if it's published! If someone writes/posts something that is just sloppy, to me it's the same as them showing up in person looking like a hobo and demanding respect and credibility. If a person doesn't care how they appear, then I don't take too much of my time trying to figure out who "they really are". I'm also a firm believe in that how someone does something is generally how they do everything. ...I don't have the time or the energy in an attempt to unscramble what someone is trying to say. If they don't care enough, well, neither do I.

On a forum it really doesn't bother me, but I tend to agree that in a professional setting it sticks out. If your job is a writer, then the public face of your business is the words on a page. Your customers (readers) use that to evaluate your performance.

Does a plumber need to worry about the grammatical flow of his sentences when writing a letter. No, its not his job. But he better be damn sure on the job he acts professionally, has quality craftsmanship and the plumbing has no leaks. The customers use these items to evaluate his performance.

Russ -

You'll appreciate this (warning: profanity):

This cartoon wrote a sweary word on your toilet wall. « the rut.

Originally Posted by Luke12321

Good point. Spell checking does kill the need to worry about spelling. I speed through papers and then use spell-check. Just easier that way for me....

So your words are spelled correctly, but it doesn't stop misuse.

There, their, they're
Base, bass
Bear, bare
Tear, tare
To, too

You get the idea.

Originally Posted by rcardin

Moral is: beware of first impressions based on appearance.

For the most part I agree with you. If I am in a position of selling something to someone, I don't judge their appearance. I've worked in RE too long to do that!

However, if someone is wanting something from me (feedback, a date, a job etc.) then I expect them to put some effort in.

Originally Posted by rcardin

Moral is: beware of first impressions based on appearance.

I don't lump appearance and communication together...

Appearance doesn't mean much to me (unless it's plain old dirty/unclean), and living in Silicon Valley, I've learned that the unshaven guy in blue jeans and a t-shirt most likely has a lot more money than the guy in the suit...

But communication is different. If you can't communicate, you can't strategically try to acquire your wants, you can't negotiate, you can't compromise, and you'll have a hard time trying to achieve your goals...

Just my $.02...certainly not trying to judge...

Originally Posted by LightHouse

Seriously though, I tend to not double check everything when I post because I am moving so fast. After awhile it was suggested I get IE7 Pro with a built in spell check. That has help significantly.

It's not that I can't write or I am illiterate, but that I'm short of time.

I don't think Russ was referring to the occasional spelling mistake or missed punctuation. He was more referring to those people who write in such a way as to make it difficult to ascertain what they are thinking and trying to communicate...

I rarely use spell check. I don't even use it in MSword. I usually reread what I type and catch any spelling errors then. Most of the time, I change the post when I reread it to improve the grammar or structure.

Regarding the food review in the original post, the spelling errors make the person's critique of the restaurant lose value. It could be a 12 year old kid writing a review. It could be a person who has never visited this restaurant. We can't believe that a person who actually visited the restaurant and has such a palette would write so poorly and would be satisfied to put his or her name on that review.