Tip of the Week: 26 October 2009

Spelling Checks and Balances

To the trained eye, errors in word usage or terminology stand out right away.  For the audiences our clients hope to impress, trusting Microsoft Word’s spelling check is a tremendous liability, because it will overlook words that, while spelled correctly, are used incorrectly.  Consider that Microsoft Word is only as good as the algorithm it uses for every document.

Some of the most common misuses are:

allusion/illusion – an allusion is a reference to something, whereas an illusion is a false perception.

affect/effect – simply put: affect is a verb, effect is a noun.

Capitol/capital – Capitol is the physical building where politicians meet and is always capitalized. Capital is an asset, an uppercase letter, or a city which contains, of all things, a Capitol.

Remember to always have a second set of eyes read over your copy because what your word processor doesn’t know can and will hurt you.