Spell Check May Not Be Your Friend. But It Can Still Be Useful.

Seasoned veterans of Planet College have learned to be wary of running any spelling and grammar checking feature on whatever word processing program they may be using. Planet College has detailed the potential heartbreak of depending on such a program here.

If the pitfall detailed in that post is discouraging read further.

Spelling and grammar checking programs do have a place. Just not as the final this-is-the-print-out- I-will -hand-in.  There are too many opportunities for glaring errors. Mainly this is true because final copies are usually printed out at 2 a.m. just before you pass out from exhaustion. Or, worse, ten minutes before class.  Either way there is no means to do a final real effective check of the work. And for the kind of work you except to complete now a final check is absolutely necessary.

This factor becomes more important as you progress.  Early on, like way back when you were a freshman, you handed in anything because as a freshman you just did not care. You probably figured, " Hey I turned it in. Give me an A." That did not work out and since then you have progressed both in your respect for the difficulties of actually completing a worthwhile paper and in the care you take in your work.

Which is why Planet College counsels students to use the spelling feature of you writing program early and often. As you progress through the writing of the paper pause and run the spell check. Watch it carefully but especially watch it for obvious errors.  These programs are so coldly logical that they will invariably recommend " there " for " they're " and other such simple but useless recommendations. When you are done with your final copy print it out and look at it carefully.  Ideally if you can, print it out the night before. Next morning look it over for errors.  It is likely you will be much more capable of spotting needed corrections after at least a few hour sleep. Then you can run your final print out.