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Rating: 
Summary: Correct Spellings and More
Review: The thing I really like about this book is the system it uses to help you find the correct spelling of lots and lots of words. Arranged alphabetically are all the possible phonetic ways different words could be spelled with the correct spelling next to it. The incorrect spellings are in one font and the correct spellings are in another. There are also numerous explanations of the words, including sources, usages, and so on. These are very entertaining to read. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: You CAN Look Up the Words You Can't Already Spell!
Review: When I was in high school, I and a few good friends made a pretty good hobby out of tormenting (in a good way, of course) one particular English teacher in our school. One of my favorite tactics in this teacher's classroom was to blurt out, in mock consternation, "How do you spell ______?" whenever I couldn't spell a word. Why? Because a) I was young and immature and a legend in my own mind, and b) the teacher always fell right into my trap... "Look it up in the dictionary!" he'd scream, without fail, pitching me a nice softball right over the plate ... "But HOW," I whined, "am I supposed to look up a word when I can't spell it in the first place?!" (GLARING SCOWL) Problem was, I was only half-kidding with most of my questions (though I'd never admit as much to the teacher). Often it really WAS difficult (not to mention time-consuming) to look up the words I didn't know, especially if their spellings weren't very intuitive. I guess that's why I'm enjoying my copy of "1,001 Commonly Misspelled Words." With this handy book, you don't need to know how to spell a word already before looking it up. You need only know how to pronounce it -- because you can then look it up phonetically. Why didn't someone think of this before?! Once you get to the word's phonetic spelling, you can then see the correct (though often counterintuitive!) spelling. Plus, you might get a little story about the word or, better yet, some sort of nemonic -- er, I mean mnemonic -- device so that you can remember how to spell it in the future. I only wish the book included more words. But in any case, it's a nice tool -- especially for a writer type like me. I would think it might also make a good gift for new college students and others who will be tearing their spelling hair out from time to time in the years to come. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: You CAN Look Up the Words You Can't Already Spell!
Review: When I was in high school, I and a few good friends made a pretty good hobby out of tormenting (in a good way, of course) one particular English teacher in our school. One of my favorite tactics in this teacher's classroom was to blurt out, in mock consternation, "How do you spell ______?" whenever I couldn't spell a word. Why? Because a) I was young and immature and a legend in my own mind, and b) the teacher always fell right into my trap... "Look it up in the dictionary!" he'd scream, without fail, pitching me a nice softball right over the plate ... "But HOW," I whined, "am I supposed to look up a word when I can't spell it in the first place?!" (GLARING SCOWL) Problem was, I was only half-kidding with most of my questions (though I'd never admit as much to the teacher). Often it really WAS difficult (not to mention time-consuming) to look up the words I didn't know, especially if their spellings weren't very intuitive. I guess that's why I'm enjoying my copy of "1,001 Commonly Misspelled Words." With this handy book, you don't need to know how to spell a word already before looking it up. You need only know how to pronounce it -- because you can then look it up phonetically. Why didn't someone think of this before?! Once you get to the word's phonetic spelling, you can then see the correct (though often counterintuitive!) spelling. Plus, you might get a little story about the word or, better yet, some sort of nemonic -- er, I mean mnemonic -- device so that you can remember how to spell it in the future. I only wish the book included more words. But in any case, it's a nice tool -- especially for a writer type like me. I would think it might also make a good gift for new college students and others who will be tearing their spelling hair out from time to time in the years to come. Highly recommended!
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