Why is spelling important in documents of all kinds? There are several obvious reasons, but I would like to deal today with the many challenges with which spelling confronts us in any type of document. English spelling is notoriously difficult. That is, unfortunately, not an acceptable excuse for ignoring its peculiarities and vagaries. One has to be mindful, therefore, and tread with care through the minefield of its idiosyncrasies.
The following make up some of what I call the traps that await the unwary in English spelling. We must recognise and deal with these traps:
1. " 'i' before 'e' except after 'c'." e.g. receive, deceive, perceive–but the exceptions include: seize, weight.
2. Some noun endings are different from verb endings, e.g. advice (noun), advise (verb), practice (noun), practise (verb), licence (noun), license (verb)
3. With some words you double the final consonant and add ed, ing; e.g.
occur occurred occurring
refer referred referring
transfer transferred transferring
prefer preferred preferring
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