Spelling Rules and Exercises

Spelling rules are a bit like weather forecasts: we may use them, but we really can't depend on them to be right 100% of the time. Nevertheless, many writers find that certain rules help them to remember how to spell particular types of words, especially those formed by adding suffixes (or endings). Here we'll look at the four spelling rules that should be most helpful.

The most effective memory devices tend to be the ones we make up ourselves (and the sillier they are, the better). But it would be hard to beat these 20 classic spelling mnemonics.

In each of the following pairs, only one is a word; the other is a common misspelling of that word. See if you can identify the correctly spelled word in each set.

In this follow-up to our first Quiz on 25 Commonly Misspelled Words, you may find that some of the words are a little less common and a bit more challenging.

We set the record straight on that well-traveled poem about spell checkers--"Candidate for a Pullet Surprise." The poem endures as a cautionary tale for all those who place too much trust in spell checkers.

English spelling is complicated, inconsistent, and often downright ornery. But don't take our word for it. Consider what some well-known writers have had to say about English orthography.

In this letter, composed while he was living in London, Benjamin Franklin defends his proposal to reform English spelling through the creation of a phonologically based alphabet.

Mark Twain had little respect for what he called our "foolish" and "drunken old alphabet," or for the "rotten spelling" that it encouraged. Yet Twain doubted that the efforts of spelling reformers would ever succeed. It was the alphabet itself, he believed, that needed to be tossed out and rebuilt from scratch.

A list of 200 of the most commonly misspelled words.

Part Two of our list of 200 commonly misspelled words.

Part Two of our list of 200 commonly misspelled words.

The final part of our list of 200 commonly misspelled words.

Practice your spelling skills by completing the following exercises.

Composed by Dr. Gerard Nolst Trenité (1870-1946), "The Chaos" illustrates many of the irregularities of English spelling (orthography) and pronunciation.

When this comic exercise in misspelling originally appeared in the children's magazine "St. Nicholas" (1893), the editors encouraged youngsters to "copy out the verses neatly, and with the proper spelling."