Spelling, explained
TOEFL Writing: Do Spelling Mistakes Lower Your Score?
What the official TOEFL writing rubrics say about spelling, how many mistakes it takes to matter, the academic words that fail under time pressure, and a two-week fix.
October 11, 2026
Spelling for Lawyers and Paralegals: Legal Words That Trip Up Filings
Judgment or judgement, subpoena, indict, de minimis: the legal words that go wrong in filings, the Latin and Law French behind them, fifty words to check and a routine that fixes them.
October 11, 2026
Why Sleep Is Part of Learning to Spell, and How to Use It
Words you practice today are still being learned tonight. What sleep does for memory, what the word-learning studies found, how to plan a spelling week around it, and the honest limits.
October 11, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes French Speakers Make, and How to Fix Them
French and English share thousands of words, spelled just differently enough to catch you out. The patterns, about 60 near-twins, and a way to keep them apart.
October 11, 2026
How to Do Spelling Homework Without a Fight (or Tears)
If spelling homework ends in tears most nights, here is why it happens, what to change in the room, a five-minute routine, and what to say when a word is wrong.
October 11, 2026
I Before E Except After C: Is the Rule Actually True?
The famous rhyme is right about one sound and wrong about most words. What it really covers, what the counts show, why weird breaks it, and a better way to learn ie and ei.
October 11, 2026
How to Spell Better at Work Without Anyone Knowing You Are Practicing
For the adult who has quietly hidden weak spelling for years: find your own error list in your sent mail, practice ten minutes a day on your phone, and handle corrections calmly.
October 11, 2026
3rd Grade Spelling Words: Patterns, Lists, and Practice That Works
Third grade is the year of endings: doubling, drop the e, y to i. A 150-word list by pattern, a five-minute home week, and how to tell a missing word from a missing rule.
October 11, 2026
Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced: Does Spelling Count?
Where spelling is marked in B2 First and C1 Advanced, from Use of English to Listening and Writing, the word families that cost marks, and a four-week plan to keep them.
October 11, 2026
Spelling for Accountants: The Finance Words That Cost Credibility
Receivable, accrual, amortization, liaison: the finance words that go wrong in reports, how their parts make them easy, and a five-minute routine for a busy quarter.
October 11, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes German Speakers Make, and How to Fix Them
Capitalized nouns, k where English has c, sch for sh, adress for address: the German habits behind most English spelling slips, about forty words, and a fix for each.
October 11, 2026
Word Study in the Classroom: Teaching Spelling Through Word Parts
Why sign explains signal, what the morphology research found, the prefixes and roots worth teaching at each grade, and a fifteen-minute word study routine for tomorrow.
October 11, 2026
ADHD and Spelling: Why Focus, Not Ability, Is the Problem
Know the word and still write it wrong? With ADHD that is usually attention, not ability. How to sort slips from real gaps, and how to practice and proofread in ways that fit.
October 11, 2026
Invented Spelling: Why Your Child's Made-Up Words Are a Good Sign
KEP OWT on the bedroom door is not a problem. What your kindergartner's invented spellings reveal, what the research says about later reading, and how to respond.
October 11, 2026
The Drop-the-E Rule: Hoping, Hopeful, and the Exceptions Explained
Hoping but hopeful, changing but changeable, true but truly. The one rule for silent e before a suffix, the reason behind every exception, and 30 words to practice.
October 11, 2026
PTE Academic Spelling: How It Is Scored and How to Stop Losing Points
On PTE Academic, a misspelled word scores the same as a blank. Where spelling is scored, why the machine is so strict, and a four-week dictation plan to stop losing points.
October 11, 2026
The 100 Words Adults Misspell Most, With a Trick for Each
Definitely, separate, accommodate and 97 more, grouped by why they go wrong, each with its usual mistake and one short trick. A reference page, plus a way to fix your own list.
October 11, 2026
Spelling for Engineers: Technical Words That Go Wrong in Specs
Gauge, hydraulic, tolerance, shear or sheer: the technical words that go wrong in specs and reports, the Greek and Latin roots that make them predictable, and how to fix yours.
October 11, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes Japanese Speakers Make, and How to Fix Them
Collect for correct, docter for doctor, berry for very. Why katakana and Japanese sounds shape English spelling errors, 40 words to practice, and a listening-first fix.
October 11, 2026
How to Spell a Word You Have Never Seen: What Bee Champions Know
When the pronouncer says a word nobody studied, strong spellers ask questions. What origin, part of speech and sound patterns reveal, and how to practice guessing well.
October 11, 2026
What a Spelling Mistake Tells You: A Guide for Teachers and Tutors
Jupt and jumpt score the same on a test but need opposite teaching. How to read spelling errors by layer (sound, pattern, meaning), with an analysis sheet and next steps.
October 11, 2026
Why Good Readers Can Be Bad Spellers, and What Actually Helps
You read constantly and still write seperate. Why recognizing a word is not the same as producing it, what the research shows, and the kind of practice that closes the gap.
October 11, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes Korean Speakers Make, and How to Fix Them
Why Korean speakers write "pile" for "file" and "sandwitch" for "sandwich": the six traps behind the errors, forty words to practice, and a routine that starts with the ear.
October 11, 2026
4th Grade Spelling Words: Long Words, Roots and a Home Plan
Why spelling often gets harder in fourth grade, 150 words sorted by the patterns that explain them, and a ten-minute plan for home that works with the school list.
October 11, 2026