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I don't know about you, but I've noticed a serious down grading on the importance of spelling and grammar. Like most people, I read the news online, and it's truly unbelievable how many spelling mistakes I find, not only in the body of text, but large headers. Everyone makes mistakes, we're human, but it's the amount of mistakes that are being made and published that astounds me.
Maybe we rely on spell check too much, maybe we're too impatient to read over our work, maybe we're just lazy, whatever it is, proof reading is an essential step that is regularly overlooked.
As an aspiring author I understand the importance, but I would think it's even more important in everyday tasks. Litigated matters for example. The word is, isn't, can, can't, could change the way an entire report reads, having extremely negative consequences.
I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to spelling and grammar mistakes, but I also know the most effective way of fixing this, is to read your manuscript, report, letter ,or email out loud.
The most common offenders are:
Lose v Loose - one meaning the opposite of win, the other meaning the opposite of tight.
Weird v Wierd - i after e, except after c, doesn't always apply. Weird is the correct spelling.
They're v Their v There - the first can be spelt out as "they are," the second is ownership (their cloths, their coffee, their fault), the third a place or idea (i.e. over there!)
Your v You're - the first meaning ownership, the second can be spelt out as "you are".
Its v It's - the first having ownership, the second can be spelt out as "it is".
Effective v Affective - the first means producing results, the second refers to emotion or influence.
Weather v Whether - the first referring to rain, sun, wind etc. The second is used to introduce a question, often outlining a choice between options.
Then v Than - the first can be used in a few different contexts such as a point in time, next or afterward, and also referred to as an addition. The second is more often used as a comparison. Red cars go faster than blue cars.
Breathe v Breath - the first referring to the act of breathing, the second easier to understand in a singular text.
Another thing.. I get the whole text message abbreviations, OMG, LOL etc... but I don't think it's a great idea to use this slang in your manuscript. I think you could get away with OMG as an inner monologue, or even an excited teenager, but otherwise, it's not going to make sense.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth.
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