These days, just about everyone relies on spellcheck. With the technology to have all of our errors fixed for us, we save so much time. We no longer have to worry about whether our spelling is correct, or whether we have commas in the right place. But just how reliable are spellcheck programs?
The Benefits of Spellcheck
There’s no denying that spellcheck has significantly eased the lives of all kinds of writers. From e-mails to college papers, spellcheck programs catch many spelling and grammar errors that human eyes often miss. And with more sophisticated software coming out (think Grammarly), spellcheck is becoming even more accurate. Now, it can usually better predict the writer’s intention.
Use Spellcheck as a Tool, Not a Crutch
Despite its undeniable benefits, spellcheck should never completely replace the process of editing and revising. Occasionally, an author writes a sentence that is so sophisticated (or sloppy!) that spellcheck inevitably misses the mark. This is why it is important to give your writing one final read before publishing, sending, or turning it in.
When to Turn Spellcheck Off Altogether
For some writers, spellcheck actually does more harm than good. For example, it doesn’t always necessarily correct mistakes in the right way. Spellcheck software has gotten pretty good at predicting the intentions of most misspelled words. However, students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, or other language disabilities that make it difficult to approximate correct spelling, tend not to follow typical spelling patterns in their writing. This causes spellcheck to “misunderstand“ what the writer meant. In fact, according to literacy expert Louisa Moats, research has shown that for students who have writing or language disabilities, spellcheck correctly identifies and fixes intended words about 53% of the time. This means there is about a 50/50 chance that spellcheck will fix the errors. At best, this makes the writers’ final version even harder to edit and revise. At worst, it makes the writing completely incomprehensible.
If a student does insist on using spellcheck, he should do so manually, without using auto-correct, so that the author can make sure what the computer is correcting is what he intends. The best intervention for these types of authors may be to not use spellcheck at all, but to revise and edit the old fashioned way. It’s much more time-consuming, but also provides a far greater learning opportunity than having a computer potentially create even more mistakes than there were to begin with.
The Bottom Line
Use spellcheck with caution. It can be a wonderfully helpful tool, but it can also become a significant detriment to those who struggle with approximating spelling.