Your spell checker doesn’t work so you must proofread

Can you identify the error?

The picture shows the subject line of an email that I’ve edited to hide the identity of the guilty typist. It includes the kind of error that a spell checker won’t catch. Even Microsoft Word’s grammar checker didn’t catch the typo when I tested the complete sentence.

Proofreading is essential, if you want to avoid embarrassing yourself in your financial blog or other written communications. Tips for effective proofreading are included in my blogging class.

If you think typos don’t matter, read some of the comments this typo drew from my social media friends.

  • Oooh…That makes me not want to open that e-mail at all.
  • That kind of mistake makes me nuts.
  • Ouch!

In case you couldn’t identify the error

The subject line should have read “See who’s speaking this fall….”

Gosh, I hope I didn’t let any typos slip through in this post.

Note: This post was updated on May 18, 2015 to remove an outdated link.

2 replies
  1. Susan Weiner CFA
    Susan Weiner CFA says:

    I haven’t found any typos in this post yet, but I DID just find and correct one in “My five favorite reference books for writers.”

    It was a typo that spell checker couldn’t identify.

    Sigh. We’re all vulnerable.

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] For more ideas about proofreading, see “6 ways to stop sending emails with errors,” “What professional writers know,” and “Your spell-checker doesn’t work, so you must proofread.” […]

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