Do you think correct spelling is no longer important because we have technology that can spell for us and because “text speak” is common?
Technology such as autocorrection may be making misspellings common, but that doesn’t change the reality that poor spelling is powerful in terms of the way people judge you. Correct spelling is still important. People will draw conclusions about you from your ability to use English correctly—and those judgments will carry over to the services, products, or information you’re offering.
I’m sure you don’t want your professional (or personal) communication to make you seem unintelligent. You also don’t want to confuse your readers or waste their time. Correct spelling is not only important for printed communication but also for professional online content—your website, your blog posts, your marketing materials, and your social media posts. Most important, your readers will likely notice spelling errors before they’ll notice punctuation errors; therefore, misspellings have a huge impact on your communication.
Spelling is an indicator of how you process language. Spelling instruction begins in early elementary school. As a former teacher, I know that many children don’t enjoy practicing spelling (although, as a child, spelling was one of my favorite activities in school—I thought it was fun to form words from letters and recognize patterns), but there’s a reason teachers insist that children learn to spell: It supports reading, which lays the foundation for a child’s academic career and future. Spelling helps children learn to read and develop language proficiency, giving them confidence in their literacy skills, which results in confidence in their overall academic capabilities. No matter what our jobs are, we never stop writing throughout life. Communication skills are critical—you must have the skills to convey your thoughts clearly, and spelling is part of this.
But aren’t people who insist on good spelling just being snobs?
No. They’re being conscientious. Spelling is a standardization, just like grammar rules. (See this post on the importance of grammar rules.) Adhering to correct spelling means you care about communicating clearly; therefore, you care about the information you’re communicating and the people you’re communicating it to. When people read your nonfiction text, you can presume they’re trying to learn something. On some level, they want to think you know something they don’t. If they see that your writing is full of spelling errors, they’ll wonder about the quality of the information you’re providing.
So has technology made it okay to misspell words?
No. A recent BBC article cited the head of education and skills at business lobby group CBI: “It would be a mistake to tell young people that spelling doesn’t matter in this industry, or in this occupation, because those basic skills are a real gateway to other roles or to developing other skills” (Morrison 2017). So if you want to advance in your career, you need to spell correctly.
But is it okay to be less strict about spelling in an e-mail because e-mail is considered casual communication?
This is a gray area. Morrison states, “Where once there were agreed conventions for letter writing, the online environment has created a new in-between form of discourse where we don’t quite know what the rules are.” Of course, you’ll want to assess your audience, but it’s best to err on the side of caution and remain formal in your communication; stick to the rules of spelling and grammar. Just like poor grammar distracts from the content of your writing and reflects badly on you, poor spelling does also.
Bottom line? Despite technology, correct spelling is still important. Spelling errors won’t make you look current and laid-back, they’ll make you look unintelligent and lazy—which you know you’re not. And remember, spell check doesn’t catch every error. So if you feel like you struggle with spelling, pay close attention to spelling when you write. Use a dictionary. Get help from an editor. But try not to publish writing with misspellings that have the power to ruin your credibility.
