[Closed] Bad spelling and grammar

It depends, I'm poor at both but have improved in my adulthood as have dyslexia. Back when I was at school there was little support apart from being stuck in the thicky class and being taking out of lessons to read books from infant school. Not being able to read wasn't a problem so they couldn't understand why that didn't work.

I was embarrassed for years by it but in my mid twenties learnt to live with it and have tried to concur it since, it still comes through time to time making somethings I write unreadable. So it depends to what extent it is, a few grammar mistakes and the odd spelling Ok but at times it can be so bad it makes to hard to read.

Edit: see there's a few in there, I can spot them quicker now use to take me ages I had to read things several times.

Grammar? My grammars bad. Her lumbago is playing up again.

What do you think?

If it ain't your native language you've no complaint.

Really depends...

I know people who'll still make judgements based on spelling/grammar so it can affect you even if it doesn't really effect how good you are at your job.

(yes, I know 🙂 )

What do you think?

Depends on what the job is.

Accounting and Controlling in our case.

I must admit, it still grates with me a little when I see spelling mistakes on formal documents. It's hard not to take it as a sign that the person concerned simply can't be bothered to proof-read text, and is unconcerned about how this reflects on them. The arrival of semi-reliable spell-checkers makes it even easier and quicker to proof-read for most people.

Don't mind it that much on a forum post, as it's clearly a less formal method of communication, unless the meaning is completely mangled as a result.

I know people who'll still make judgements based on spelling/grammar so it can affect you even if it doesn't really effect how good you are at your job.

He'll be along soon.

Here you go Drac

The conclusion was it a nice to have

How do you feel about spelling/typing skillz?

ericemel - Member

Accounting and Controlling in our case.

Do you need grammar for that?

The arrival of semi-reliable spell-checkers makes it even easier and quicker to proof-read for most people.

I agree spellcheckers has made it easier for me to proofread.

Depends completely on the job, and what kind of interaction you have with other people (clients in particular).

There's also a trade/profession divide, I would expect a lawyer or doctor to use perfect (if illegible) English, I wouldn't be so concerned about it from a builder or mechanic.

Most reasonable people would make allowances for foreign speakers, though there would of course be limits.

No allowances will be made, however, for CV's and cover letters!

The arrival of semi-reliable spell-checkers makes it even easier and quicker to proof-read for most people

I disagree: Spell-checkers have become a replacement for proof-reading but have the significant floor that they ignore context so if yaw word is typed incorrectly but is itself a word, it won't be pict up.

I once saw a presentation someone gave for which their job was literally on the line, where throughout the slides the word "asses" appeared where "assess" should have been. He was shortly thereafter "exploring new opportunities"

No allowances will be made, however, for CV's and cover letters!

+1

I am poor at both, it irritates me, I try my best, what more can I do.

Read what I write & not how I have written it.

Plenty of people underestimate just how ambiguous or nonsensical written work can be if it's not punctuated well or written in proper sentences etc. How much this matters depends on the circumstances, I guess. I'm sure we've all seen emails/letters/communications/journalism etc that we've had to ask for clarification on because they weren't well written, and it's not always just because the piece was written in haste.

I try not to let it bother me too much - it used to once, but with the increase in informal, abbreviated writing as communication via email, text messages, forums, twitter etc., I've become a lot more relaxed about it. I enjoy seeing how wound up others become about it.

I try to make any estimates or communications to clients as grammatically correct as possible and re-read a few times for spelling mistakes. However, sometimes, I'll open up an old estimate in order to prepare an invoice and see something really stupid on there. Which goes to show of course, how difficult it is to proof-read your own stuff.

Should the past tense of "text" (the verb) be "text" or "texted"? I'm all for the latter but it seems most people use the former.

I disagree: Spell-checkers have become a replacement for proof-reading but have the significant floor that they ignore context so if yaw word is typed incorrectly but is itself a word, it won't be pict up.

You're correct, of course. I meant it makes it easier and quicker for people who are actually trying to proof-read, rather than just hitting spellcheck followed by return a couple of dozen times, believing this will spirit away their mistakes without the need for them to even be involved in the process.

The trouble with temporal analysis of the importance and quality of spelling and grammar now, compared to x number of years ago, is that far more is written down and then read these days. This forum is just one example. Thus, poor spelling and grammar is more obvious today. Maybe.

It was much better when only the monks had access to writing materials. 🙂

I think changing technology has also exposed professionals, and those who we probably thought were all spot-on with the written word turn out to be as fallible as the rest of us - it was the "girls" in the typing pool and the secretaries who actually put the apostrophe's in the right places and made sure the words were speled rite.

Since professionals got keyboards on their desks and started producing their own documents, quality control has been defenestrated.

You shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the teaching profession never mind fifteen year old girls, if you can't spell, read or write to the capability of an educated Victorian ten year old, which puts a lot of them out of work.

I make an effort here. My texts and FB would prolly be unreadable by most people. As long as what your saying make sense then it doesn't bother me.

I think it matters.
But then I write stuff for a living.

Er ... There's no apostrophe in CVs. I think it matters. Can you tell? 😉

The conclusion was it a nice to have but not a big deal anymore . . .

Is that making any sense to anyone else?

You shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the teaching profession never mind fifteen year old girls, if you can't spell, read or write to the capability of an educated Victorian ten year old, which puts a lot of them out of work.

As long as what your saying make sense then it doesn't bother me.

Is that making any sense to anyone else?

Yeah but then I my kids play a lot of Mario games.

The conclusion was it a nice to have but not a big deal anymore . . .
Is that making any sense to anyone else?

Personally it grates, although since I started using an iPhone and iPad to write to forums and other places my spelling skillz have atrophied somewhat, as the auto-correct is so good. It can bite you in the ass, though, when you're doing something quickly and miss-spell a word that auto-corrects into the wrong word! 😳
Having spent many years in print, publishing and graphics, spelling correctly is absolutely vital, I used to spend hours proof-reading galleys, then proof-reading the finished pages, then checking the final pages after the client has checked them has left me with an obsessive eye for spelling errors in printed work.
A very close friend of mine who I have regular iMessage conversations with is a dreadful speller, despite being in a very high-power civil service job involving the military, and somehow manages to bypass iOS's excellent auto correct, which means there are often messages I have to query, because the meaning is totally opaque to me, rendering comprehension almost impossible.
Go, as they say, figure... 😀

I think it's important. Poor grammar/spelling basically says "I can't be bothered". Obviously nobody's perfect and everybody makes typos now and again but stuff like your/you're isn't that hard to get right so I don't really see any excuse for getting it wrong other than laziness.

It doesn't matter everywhere, but if your work is judged by what you write rather than how well you use your hands then it's worth making an effort IMO.

your/you're isn't that hard to get right so I don't really see any excuse for getting it wrong other than laziness.

In my case it's dyslexia.

I would refuse to respond to a colleague's emails when I worked with him if they contained txt speak.

I'm a copywriter. It's pretty important to my job.

Er ... There's no apostrophe in CVs. I think it matters. Can you tell?

Learn something everyday, although a quick google seems to indicate it's more of a general guideline than a hard-and-fast rule.

I try to be accurate, concise and clear. I slip up sometimes and find criticism helpful and try not to be over sensitive about it.

There's mistakes, dyslexia and pure laziness when it comes to spelling and grammar. I hate only one of them - which do we think it is?

On a forum like this one it doesn't really matter if someone forgets to punctuate a contraction but a failure to include a full stop or a comma where one is needed is inexcusable.
On an official document it's imperative it has exactly zero mistakes otherwise it makes me think i shouldn't take it seriously.

I am dyslexic, and have found it has not stopped me too much. I applied to become a special police constable, but was told my spelling and grammar was not up to the standards required. I also applied to become a paramedic but again poor spelling. It did not stop me whist i was in the army. passed all my welding quals easy got my coding. found a job as clock engineer, luckily the boss said "your dyslexic aren't you?" "yes sir, i am" boss "that's great, dyslexics make the best horological engineers. You hired"

but i would love to be able to spell and more importantly punctuate.

I am dyslexic, and have found it has not stopped me too much. I applied to become a special police constable, but was told my spelling and grammar was not up to the standards required.

dyslexia is a recognised condition that prospective employers are not allowed to discriminate against and should, by law, provide reasonable adjustments to accommodate sufferers

http://www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk/the-disability-discrimination-act-(dda)

There's mistakes, dyslexia and pure laziness when it comes to spelling and grammar. I hate only one of them - which do we think it is?

how do you tell the difference?

I think it's a relatively new addition Highclimber, they offer things liked coloured paper for exam papers and such.

A woman without her man is nothing.

A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Does punctuation make a difference? Probably...

James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher.

James, while John had had "had", had had "had had"; "had had" had had a better effect on the teacher

I helped my uncle jack off his horse once 😳

On a forum like this one it doesn't really matter if someone forgets to punctuate a contraction but a failure to include a full stop or a comma where one is needed is inexcusable.

Is it really [i]inexcusable[/i]? As I long as I get the semantic gist I'm not fussed. In general though (business and official communications) if a document is poorly presented I'll think the writer a plum, possibly a little shoddy and have less faith in the job being carried out properly.

Grammar is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit.

I have to say, as a regular employer of graduates, poor grammar (in a covering letter) will not get the candidate an interview.

Until the 'grammar doesn't matter' cohort reach the top, this will remain the case I think.

It's just a personal pride thing with me; I like knowing how to punctuate and spell. However I'm sure I get plenty wrong and wouldn't have a problem being corrected! In fact maybe most if us wouldn't mind, assuming that broadening your own knowledge in anything is mildly enjoyable?

I don't get strung up about seeing bad grammar/spelling, but the argument of "evolving language" to justify crap spelling repeated frequently, does grate!

Having recently advertised for a receptionist position I can assure you the best way to have your cv heading straight to the bin is a failure to spell veterinary correctly. Failure of attention to detail to that degree means no interview.

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highclimber - Member

There's[u](There are)[/u] mistakes, dyslexia and pure laziness when it comes to spelling and grammar. I hate only one of them - which do we think it is?

On a forum like this one it doesn't really matter if someone forgets to punctuate a contraction but a failure to include a full stop or a comma where one is needed is inexcusable.
On an official document it's[u](its)[/u] imperative it has exactly zero mistakes otherwise it makes me think i[u](I) [/u]shouldn't take it seriously.

I often make real howlers while typing up stuff & as you can see in the previous text it can be open to interpretation, well apart from the "i" 😉

"It's" is correct there, isn't it? It's a contraction, not a possessive.

Like I said Ben either could be correct as interpretation comes into play?

My father amongst other things was an editor of scientific journals, he had an unerring ability to reduce me to a quivering wreck when he passed his eye over any of my school/collage work.
Often he would scan it in a few seconds then the red Biro would strike! Slashing through my scribblings he would reduce a page to a single paragraph, yet in that single paragraph would contain all I needed to convey.

Sadly he died 14 years ago, but I still get scared of his rapier like red pen 😮

Like I said Ben either could be correct as interpretation comes into play?

No. In that case "it's" is correct, "its" is wrong. I'm also struggling to see where the question is in what I've quoted above. Claiming it's subject to interpretation as an excuse for getting it wrong is even more irritating than getting it wrong but being ignorant about it.

My father amongst other things was an editor of scientific journals, he had an unerring ability to reduce me to a quivering wreck when he passed his eye over any of my school/collage work.

Did he stick new bits on?

Only when he had Prit stick 😉

OK it was late & some red wine had been consumed 😮

🙂

Junkyard - Member
The conclusion was it a nice to have but not a big deal anymore . . .
Is that making any sense to anyone else?

What is hard about that?
It matters less now than it used to[ no big deal anymore], however, it is still a useful skill to have an it would be useful [ nice] to have it

Patently that is where you are wrong, it does matter to a certain sector of society, who, very often are in positions to determine the future of our youth. The arrogance of those in the education sector, thinking like you, doesn't serve either cause well.

I don't mean to cast blame here, you have in turn been a victim of your own training/guidance and for that, other than you choosing to improve for the sake of those you teach, there's nothing much anyone can do, suffice to say, being wrong and continuing to argue the point just increases the view that we have of the misguided arrogance prevalent in your profession.

Take it or leave it, no skin off my nose and believe it or not, nothing contained herein is intended to upset you personally, as I said, you are in turn the victim of your own conditioning.

I was "translating" what someone else had said that someone else could not understand on this thread - it is obvious from your quote this is what I have done rather than give a personal view. Clearly you dont read very well, struggle to comprehend and jump to erroneous conclusion and use the royal "we" when you give your own view.
Just like you though i dont mean it personally you are just a victim of your conditioning.

I'm firmly in the camp that if you can't be bothered to use something even slightly approaching correct grammar it says something about you. I work abroad currently and give a MASSIVE amount of latitude to people I deal with as I know my grammar in their languages is awful however I don't give the same leeway in the UK.

Send a CV that gets to me and you haven't even spellchecked and, try as I might, I can't get past the feeling that you're going to show the same lack of interest in your work and unless there's a compelling reason to change my mind, I won't. I expect people to have a basic grasp of English and that includes their vocabulary and grammar but perhaps I'm in the minority.

MrStirlingCrispin has just spotted her ideal job advertised by her current employer.
Except they are asking the applicant to deliver divers training, and although wifey is a strong swimmer she's never been diving, scuba or otherwise.

Does she apply for the job anyway, on the assumption that they meant diverse training?

Junkyard - Member
I was "translating" what someone else had said that someone else could not understand on this thread - it is obvious from your quote this is what I have done rather than give a personal view. Clearly you dont read very well, struggle to comprehend and jump to erroneous conclusion and use the royal "we" when you give your own view.
Just like you though i dont mean it personally you are just a victim of your conditioning.

Well just the same, perhaps in future when answering posts of mine, please take a little trouble and correct your spelling, punctuation and first person capitalisation, then maybe I'll mentally give you credit for not being wrongly placed in charge of our nation's education, or, don't bother and ignore me in future, that way 'we' all end up happy. 😉