1. MY SPELL CHECKER I have a gnu spell checker; it came with my pea see. It plane lee marks four my review miss steaks aye dew knot sea. Eye ran this poem threw it, yore shore reel glad to no; Its very polished in it’s weigh. My checker tolled me sew. Each frays come posed up on my screen eye trust to be a joule. The checker pores or every word to cheque sum spelling rule...

2. BACK TO BASICS: Common errors in writing A Lesson in using Homophones and a few other common mistakes students make

3. In The Future….. 1.Writing should go from margin to margin. 2.Read your papers out loud to catch errors in structure and grammar. 3. If you are given an assignment that is to be hand-written, it should be your best handwriting.

4. Homophones What is a homophone? Examples: –Their, There, They’re –Affect, Effect –Your, You’re –It’s, Its –Which, Witch –whose- who's –Then, Than –Accept, Except –Where, Were and Wear

5. Their, There, They’re They’re This is the easiest of the three because it’s a contraction: They + are = they’re If you can say “they are” in place of “they’re” then you are using it correctly.

6. There The trick to remembering how to use there is hidden inside the word itself. There refers to a distant location. She put her books over there. In the example above, there refers to a place. Another word that refers to a place is here If you’re using there to indicate a location (i.e. over there), make sure you use the spelling that has the word here tucked inside: T H E R E

7. Their Their is a possessive pronoun. This means it’s a word used to show that someone owns something. For example: The Smiths just washed their car. How to remember? Well, look at the spelling: t-h-e-i-r. Within this word is another word, and as luck would have it, this other word also implies (future) ownership. The word inside is heir. If you’re using their to indicate ownership or possession, check to see if the word heir is within the spelling: T H E I R

8. Affect and Eff ect To Affect Affect is almost always a verb. It is something that happens. You are affected or you affect. This word is never preceded by an article such as an or the because it’s not a thing, it’s an action. When writing, or speaking for that matter, and unsure of the spelling, ask yourself if the word is being used as an action. If it is, then go with affect. a = action a = affect

9. Affect and Eff ect Effect is a noun, and that is a thing. It’s not something you do, it’s something you have, or give, or something that just is. We hear this word most commonly in reference to fancy film making — you know — special effects. “The special effects in that movie were groundbreaking!” Note the use of the article, the, as in the effect. See that? Easy! Affect is an action Effect is a result.

10. After effect Special effect Greenhouse effect Sound effect Effects of alcohol In effect… Adverse effects Positive/negative effects Cause and effect Side effects Affect and Eff ect

11. Your & You’re First of all, your is the possessive form of the personal pronoun you. Is this your backpack? Meanwhile, you’re is actually a contraction of the words “you are”. You’re a wonderful writer.

12. It’s & Its

13. Based on these examples of what not to do …..can you define the proper uses of It’s & Its???

14. Then & Than Rather than typing out more information for you to read, I will tell you about the differences and then ask if everybody understands. Get it??? ‘Then’ refers to a time, ‘than’ refers to an option or comparison that is being given. First, Ms. Gilliland read the book to the students and then she quizzed them. Rather than take the quiz, the students chose to run ten laps around the school.

15. You will loose marks for doing this. You will not lose marks for doing this. Spell-check rather then handing in error-filled work. Spell-check rather than handing in error-filled work. I correct student errors were I can. I correct student errors where I can. Ones upon a time, students used to learn grammar at school. Once upon a time, students used to learn grammar at school. This page sites famous author Terry Pratchett. This page cites famous author Terry Pratchett.

16. Please bear (not bare) in mind the following basic rules for non-mutilated sentences: Every sentence needs a verb. If it lacks a verb, it is not a sentence. Twenty-seven different student errors of maximum atrocity. I counted twenty- seven different student errors of maximum atrocity.

17. Why Bother? In the real world, you’re judged by your work – whether you're writing for a teacher, a boss, or a client, you should want to put the best possible face on your work. Careless substitutions of homonyms and letting a spell checker do the work both suggest to a reader that your work habits are less than ideal and certainly not a priority. No matter whether you’re writing a quick note to a loved one, a letter of application for a job, or a formal report for your job, practice proofreading. And don’t depend on a spell checker to get it write four ewe!

18. EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: For 10 Extra credit points, please do the following: Go out into the world…... Read signs, papers, posters, just about anything you see. It should be something that is designed for the public to see, such as posters on poles, newspapers, signs in windows…you get the idea. Find three or more grammatical errors (at least one must be a homophonic error.) Take a picture of the error or (if legal) grab the poster and bring it in. Please do not go online and download pictures ( I will know) and bring them to me, the idea is that your own keen skills of observation will be used in this activity. DUE FRIDAY, THE 22 nd of JANUARY!