Tool A - Spell better

Why do some people find spelling difficult?

Because, when a word comes to them, they hear how it sounds.

This is actually a really good thing, if you want to appreciate English poetry, for example. At the same time, it’s a disadvantage when you want to write or type the word for someone else to read.

If you are in the habit of hearing how words sound, how do you choose between ‘wood’ and ‘would’? (“I couldn’t see the wood for the trees.” / “They would, wouldn’t they?”) The two different words sound the same.

Similarly, using just your sound-memory, how do you choose between ‘their’ and ‘there’? (“They used their car.” / “Put it over there.”) Once again, the two words sound the same.

Are you stuck with this habit?

Not at all. You can develop a new habit, alongside your existing habit.

That’s all it takes to begin spelling better.

How you can spell better for the rest of your life

Think of this as a recipe

Ingredients

• A set of index cards
• A card index box
• A spelling dictionary

The cards

Lined, with a space for a title at the top. White, or all the same colour. (Please don't buy a multi-coloured pack!) Look at what you’re going to do with them, in the next section, and choose your own size—but 4 inches by 6, or A6, may be the most useful.

The box

To fit the cards you choose, with alphabetical dividers

The dictionary

A spelling dictionary: which just lists words, without definitions. Ideally, words related to one another, like breath and breathe and breathing, will be linked together.

Directions

1. Pick one word which you find difficult to spell.
2. Check your spelling dictionary for the correct spelling.
3. Write it, normally in lower case (only use starting capitals for names!) in the title space at the top of a card.
4. File it, behind its initial letter, in your card box.
5. Repeat with other words. Soon, you will come across words which begin with the same letter. Look really carefully at each word, and make sure that you file each of them in 100% correct alphabetical order.

Please note: You need to follow every step in this procedure exactly. You need to get used to consulting your spelling dictionary every time, casting your eyes over what all the words look like; and you need to concentrate on the precise look of individual words when filing them.

The box and the index cards are essential. Notebooks will not do, nor will loose-leaf folders. You have to be able to take a visual snapshot of each individual word, and then relate it, letter by letter, to other individual words.

This is how you will develop your new powerful habit!

The next steps

Build up the collection

1. Ask people to point out mistakes in your spelling. Every time someone points out a word, add it to your collection, correctly spelt.
2. Every time you find yourself hesitating over a word you are about to use, add it to your collection, correctly spelt.

And keep going

1. When you are about to write or type a word, get a sense of how it looks. If you can’t be sure of all the letters, look it up in your word collection.
2. If it is not yet in your collection, look it up in your spelling dictionary, and then add it to your collection.
3. Go through your collection every now and then, noticing what the words look like (i.e. how they are spelt).

You want more?

The only essential thing to write on your card is the one word, in the title space. But you can use the lines underneath—and many people find this useful.

• You can add a phrase or sentence in which the word appears—provided you copy each word, letter by letter, from something you have in front of you. Avoid the temptation to make something up yourself.
  

  (Your spelling dictionary may help here: it may offer you: “Wood is material from trees or a lot of trees growing together. I would.”)

• You can copy words related to your title word. (Best to do this straight from your spelling dictionary.)
• You can do both!

Take the first step today

Get hold of your ‘ingredients’, and begin to follow the ‘directions’.

Get into the habit of using your eyes and your index cards, and in a few months you will find you are using your collection less. In a year or two, you will have forgotten that you were once anxious about spelling. When you think about a word, the letters will simply come to you.