Computers often correct your spelling for you, but don't put too much trust in that - they also make mistakes. Knowing how to spell a word yourself is an advantage.
Like any other part of language, know your strengths and weaknesses. If you know a particular word causes you trouble (is it "accomodate" or "accommodate" - or "acomadate", or "accomadate", or...?), or if you're learning a word for the first time (what does the textbook mean "stochastic"?), or if you already know something but want to fix it more firmly, you can use several tricks.
Keep a list of words you've found difficult before (especially if you expect to need them again).
That can include separate lists for ordinary words (that you might use anywhere) and jargon (that you'll probably only use in coursework and professionally).
Include the different parts of the word:
| Word | Pronunciation | Related words | Example sentence |
| accommodate | ak-kommer-date | accommodation, accommodating, accommodated, unaccommodated |
When I'm planning my study timetable, I have to accommodate my work shifts. Next year, I might move into student accommodation. |
If possible, make the example sentences relevant to yourself. Words are always easier to learn when you care about them.
When revising the list, you can go through a regular routine:
| Look | and make a mental picture of the word ("accommodate" = long flat line with two spikes near the end) |
| Say | the word aloud several times |
| Cover | the word and picture it in your mind |
| Write | the word |
| Check | whether you got it right. If not, write it a few times while looking at your wordlist, then go back to test yourself. |
Some people do this with an exercise book, some on their laptop, some with flashcards. Whatever platform you use, test yourself daily on a word until you've got it right five days in a row. Once that's happened, you can move on - confident you won't forget it.
As with any language, this works best when you actively use the word in your work.
| Below are some popular techniques for remembering how to spell new words. Find what works for you. |
TELL A STORY
Find the letters that cause trouble, and tell a story that reminds you of them.
| accommodate... the problems are "c" (1 or 2), "m" (1 or 2), and the letter after "m" ("o" or "a") |
| A hotel accommodated two couples ("cc", "mm"), each with their own swimming pool (each with an "o"). |
| a cco mmo date... got it. |
ANALYSE
Some words can be broken into smaller parts. In some cases, you can even break it down to an easier root word.
| commemoration... lot of problems there | bureaucracy... lot of problems there |
|
"com" = "together" "memor" = "memory" (and I know how to spell that!) "ation" = "doing" |
"bureau" = as in "Bureau of Meteorology" "cracy" = as in "democracy" |
| commemoration... doing memory together... got it. | bureaucracy... link it to things I know... got it. |
SINGALONG
Song lyrics are easier to remember than poems, and poems are easier to remember than ordinary text. That's because our minds work on rhythms, and anything set to music enters the memory more easily.
Find a song that the word's letters fit, and sing the letters like lyrics. If no-one else is around, do it out loud.
ACROSTICS
Things are easier to remember when they're meaningful. Rather than learning a set of letters on their own, write a meaningful sentence whose first letters spell the word. This is widely used by schoolchildren to memorise new information (like the names of the planets, or which months have 31 days).
LOCATION
We remember places and things we often see. Imagine a place you know well, and then put each of the word's letters (or syllables) a few metres apart in that location. Visualise them, like giant foam letters sitting on the ground. When you need to use the word, picture yourself walking through that space seeing the letters or syllables one at a time.
| How to spell "inchoate" | |
| Singalong | This fits the first line of "Advance Australia Fair": "Australians all let us rejoice" = "I-N-C-H-O-A-T-E" |
| Acrostic | If Nick Can Help Out, All's Totally Excellent |
| Location | Picture "IN" at my front gate, "CHO" on the verandah, "ATE" leaning on my front door |