Some people struggle with math, while others have difficulty expressing their thoughts in words. Yet others have another thing that they may wish to improve, be embarrassed about, or not know what to do about, and that is how to spell. This article shows how someone can improve reading and vocabulary skills, but more importantly, how working on those two factors lends itself to likewise improving spelling skills and capabilities.
Why is it so Important to be a Good Speller in High School?
The main reason that this is so important, particularly to high school students, is that standardized tests dominate much of the American high school students' existence and play such a big role in their futures. With the revised SAT exam as well as Advanced Placement tests (taken for college credit in many instances) requiring the writing of essays on the spot, without a dictionary, thesaurus, or spell checking computer program, students need to be able to improvise and express themselves as well as they can in a conversation or interview.
In the latter instances, students may come across as intelligent and professional, as the conversation does not show what may be under the surface, difficulties with spelling. The essays, however, will expose all of that to college admissions officials, teachers, and if the student does not have others proofread applications, may follow them into the workforce etc. as well. It is of the utmost importance that less-than-par spellers try their best, particularly more so if the spelling difficulties are not tied with any learning disability, but rather, result from laziness or lack of attention to detail.
It is important to be a good speller in high school, because the written word plays a big role in all the decisions being made about the immediate future, whether it be on standardized tests that impact graduating high school, SATs to get into college, or applications for college or for a first full-time job. As much it is hard to accept being judged on one trait or difficulty alone, spelling is important, because it formulates first impressions of one's work and talents. Once an individual works a while, it may change, but in the case of high school students, that first impression means everything.
Ways to Improve Spelling Skills
There are six main ways to improve spelling, no matter what one's age is. They are:
- Read a lot. Take note of typographical errors and new vocabulary. Look up words in dictionaries. Expose oneself to a variety of texts.
- Turn the computer's spell check off as suggested in Daria Przbyla's Suite 101 article, "Frequent Spelling Mistakes in College Papers: Tips on Proofreading and Editing." Do the revisions on a print out copy and then compare it to what work and errors the computer exposes. Do not become too reliant on computers and other technologies to do the work.
- Write down the words which seem difficult or that commonly are misspelled in one's work. Write them over and over, as if this was practice for a spelling test like in grammar school.
- Learn how prefixes, roots, and suffixes work. Brush up on grammatical rules, common exceptions, and find websites that can help un-teach poor skills and build new skills when it comes to spelling. Renee Holmes' Suite 101 article, "Mnemonic Aids and Word Endings as Spelling Tips: Improve Spelling and Grammar Skills to Start Spelling Better Now" offers great suggestions about word endings' roles in improving spelling.
- Get help. Ask a tutor, parent, or teacher for recommendations. Request they read drafts of short things written and mark what errors they encounter. Find out tendencies and strive to break them.
- Play word games like Scrabble or find online equivalents. Find some crosswords and search-a-words to try. Sometimes, playing games is a more fun alternative to workbook exercises and reading. Do these in balance with items 1-5, however!
In closing, with practice, determination, and tools, anyone can work at improving spelling. Maybe an individual may not achieve too much success at first, but if someone sticks with it, the tenacity will pay off with some misspellings being eliminated altogether, as well as there will be a gain of confidence and a willingness to try using new words in essay writing. This can change one's level of success when it comes to standardized tests and other hurdles all high school students face.
Alison Diefenderfer - Hold a B.A. (anthropology) and an M.S. degree (social science) Work experience in higher education environments *I have gone ...
