Poor spelling doesn’t necessarily affect your ability to get your point across — in most cases, readers will understand even the most atrociously spelled document — but it does affect what your readers think of you. If you ignore spelling errors in your document, you’ll erode their confidence in your ability to present ideas or make an argument. The same goes for grammar and punctuation. If your sentences have subject-verb agreement problems or don’t use the appropriate punctuation, readers might not trust that you have presented your facts correctly. As you put the finishing touches on your document, keep a dictionary and good grammar handbook close by.