Spelling and Mechanics Introduction

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Spelling and mechanics errors: the easiest way to make you a laughingstock (other than slipping on a literal banana peel).

There are fewer things more cringe-worthy than a misspelled tattoo or more hilarious than when people spell "morons" like "morans" or "no offense" like "no a fence." We love to be smug about that kind of stuff.

Spelling and mechanics fails are the stuff of endless Buzzfeed lists and Tumblr blogs. Life is so much more enjoyable when autocorrect becomes auto-incorrect, isn't it?

It's fun to smirk over. It's horrible to do…especially because you just know that your essay on The Dairy of Anne Frank (um, did she really like milk that much?) or your mistake-ridden college admissions essay is not going to be taken seriously.

So let's get serious.

Correct spelling is insanely important in a paragraph or essay. It helps you get your ideas across clearly. Tools like spellcheck are great but not foolproof, so it's important to develop some stellar spelling awareness. When you encounter a new word, take note of how it's spelled and how it's used, and add it to your writing stash.

A mastery of mechanics is also crucial for composing good papers. When we say mechanics, we don't mean the good people that get your car back on the road after you run over a monstrous, sedan-eating pothole. We mean capitalization, abbreviations, and numbers. Knowing these writing standards helps you become a more effective communicator and polishes your writing skills.

It also helps you to not be this guy.

Quiz Yourself on Spelling and Mechanics

1/5

Fill in the blank:


I'm so glad that I decided to go out with Max even though his 1984 El Camino's almost never running. He _________ me.


(A) compliments
(B) complements
(C) Neither A nor B
(D) Both A and B

Can you spot the style error in this sentence?

1832 was the year my ancestors laid claim to a homestead atop the mountains of northern Wyoming, building a cabin with a view of the Grand Tetons.

(A) 1832
(B) laid claim
(C) Grand Tetons
(D) What are you talking about? This sentence looks just fine!

Identify the error in capitalization in the following sentence.


I always thought I wanted to major in cinema studies, but for some reason the H2O Department of Chemistry is really striking my fancy nowadays.


(A) cinema
(B) studies
(C) Department of Chemistry
(D) No error

Fill in the blank:


I swear, Mom, I'm telling you the _________ story about the three-foot-wide __________ in the carpet!


(A) hole, whole
(B) whole, hole
(C) hole, hole
(D) whole, whole

Which of the following sentences contains a grammatical error?

I. Violent video games—e.g., the Grand Theft Auto series—are a perpetual source of controversy.

II. After Atari's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial video game flopped with consumers, 700,000 unsold cartridges were buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

III. The CIA is a faction in both the Battlefield and Call of Duty: Black Ops game franchises.

(A) I
(B) II
(C) III
(D) Error? What error? These all look good to me.

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