Chapter 31: Dictionaries, Vocabulary, and Spelling
CHAPTER 31CONNECT: How can you choose just the right words when you write? The Top Twenty, “Wrong Word”, 30a and b, 31e
CREATE: Paste some of your informal writing into a new document and spell check the text, accepting all the suggestions it gives you. Share the results with colleagues and classmates. Did the spell check give you any bad advice?
REFLECT: What advice would you give writers about using spell checkers based on your experience?
PHILOSOPHER JOHN DEWEY wrote, “Everyone has experienced how learning an appropriate name for what was dim and vague cleared up and crystallized the whole matter.” Such is the power of vocabulary to enrich not only your language but your life as well. Expanding your vocabulary can expand your ability to reach a wide variety of audiences. To communicate effectively, pay careful attention to the meaning, and to the spelling, of the words you use.