Writing is a craft, and as with any craft it has to be learned. Or should that be learnt’? Which is the correct spelling? Writing is all about using the correct words in the correct order. So far, we have concentrated on the mechanics of achieving the right word order in a sentence. Now, however, we want to turn to getting the words themselves right.
There are several aspects to this. One is finding the right tone. There is, in Itself, nothing wrong with phrases such as well hard, but it would probably Strike a rather jarring note in a formal essay if you wrote that Julius Caesar was well hard, a diamond geezer. The more fundamental difficulty, however, is that of knowing, or not knowing, how to spell words. In some ways this is becoming less of a problem in students’ work because they can confirm their spelling on a computer’s spell-check. This is obviously a useful tool and can be used interactively to improve Spelling in addition to correcting inaccurate word-processing. There is, however, also a negative side to relying on a computer, especially for spelling quite common words, since it is these that are often miss pelt in exams. There is, though, another category of words that a spell-check will not be able to identify as errors. ‘Their’ and here’ are both English words, but a spell-check will not be able to tell you which word you need to use in a particular context. Confusion between their’ and ‘there’ is, in fact, one of the most common slips in all writing. We have, therefore, put it at the head of the . Every one of these mistakes is made thousands of times every day, in everything from essays to advertising brochures, from letters to circulars. Because they are common mistakes they stand out all the more in formal writing. So, if you have difficulty with spelling – and one of the authors of this book is not too embarrassed to admit that he has to work at his spelling – try to come to terms with this Top Twenty. It is divided into three sections, starting with words that sound the same. Obviously, if you know how to spell all of the words that follow, you will probably skim, but you might glance at each topic to make sure. Correct spelling is an area that is easy to overlook, and underestimate, in terms of its effect on the reader or marker of your writing.
Sound-alike words
Their and there
Just because two words sound the same this does not mean they have the same meaning or, indeed, that there is any kind of connection between them at all. The main thing to remember about there is that it is not here. In other words, there is a location. Their, on the other hand, means ‘belonging to them’ (it is their house), and as such is a possessive.
It is quite easy to remember that three words indicating a place or pointing out something all have here in them:
here, there, where.
As a quick rule of thumb, when you are about to choose there or their, ask yourself whether it is a place or person that is being referred to:
There is a weakness in their game; their passing is awful, and there seems no way to improve it or their co-ordination.
‘There, there,’ said their father, ‘there’s no need to cry’, as he tried to console the children for the loss of their rabbit. ‘It may be over there, in the fields.’
Another related word that you might be tempted to use is they’re, which is a contraction of they are, and is pronounced the same as there and their. As we noted in the previous passage, contractions lend an air of informality to writing, but in an academic essay it is more appropriate to use the full form they are rather than they’re.