8 Reasons Why Good Spelling Matters ...

One of the most important reasons why good spelling matters is that it facilitates communication. Standardising spelling makes it a lot easier to understand texts. If everybody spelled words differently, how would we be able to communicate properly?

I consider good spelling to be a fundamental part of our language. Just think how annoyed you'd be if we didn't spell-check these articles? If we care about our language, which is a huge part of how we communicate, we must maintain standards and do our best to spell correctly.

Good spelling helps to avoid confusion. It can be difficult to understand what someone means if they haven't paid attention to writing correctly. Incorrect spelling can even lead to serious mistakes being made - just think how grave the consequences could be if a doctor or nurse misspelled a patient's notes.

You might think that spelling isn't important any more, but poor spelling could actually seriously affect your prospects and career. Let's say an employer has two candidates for a job. One resumé is full of mistakes, the other is spotless. The two candidates may have equal qualifications, but the employer will always gain a better impression from the one who has carefully checked their spelling.

It's important to be able to spell so that you don't depend on spell checkers. They won't pick up words that are correctly spelt, but the wrong word for the context. For example, I once checked a manuscript that mentioned "The Pope's vice." The Pope may well have had vices, but clearly the author meant "The Pope's voice." If I had not known the difference between 'vice' and 'voice,' that mistake would now be in university libraries around the world …

How easy will it be to understand something if it's full of errors? Comprehension is vital in so many contexts. We need to be able to understand the written medium. If you're reading a manual, for example, it has to be correct, or you won't understand it properly.

Another problem with poor spelling is that it is a distraction from the text you are reading. Just think how hard it would be to lose yourself in a book if you kept coming across mistakes. So make the effort to spell correctly whenever you write something.

When you write something, it leaves an impression on those who read it. If you make spelling errors, that impression will not be a positive one. It's essential that work documents and college work have impeccable spelling, or you could end up losing out.

It is understandable that someone might have trouble spelling if they are dyslexic or not a native speaker of English. However, everyone else should make an effort to ensure that they spell correctly. It's not that difficult to make sure that whatever you write is correct - running it through the spell checker takes very little time. Plus we all have access to online dictionaries. Do you think that spelling matters, or do you feel that language needs to move with the times and adapt its spelling accordingly?