3. Writing Tools

Good user friendly word-processing packages come with useful sets of writing tools which help you produce accurate, well produced documents. These include:-

1. Spell Checker - checks your spelling is accurate.
2. Grammar Checker - checks that you are following the rules of English in your documents e.g using the correct punctuation, nouns, adjectives, verbs etc.
3. Thesaurus - provides a list of alternative words you can use with the same meaning.

 

 

 Spell Check

Being able to check your spelling is another big advantage of word-processing programs

Spell checking works by comparing each word typed in, to a list of words or dictionary. Any word not found in the dictionary is marked out as a spelling mistake. In Word, misspelled word are underlined in red.

Sometimes though, correctly spelled words can be marked as spelling mistakes. This is because they aren't in the dictionary. Examples of these words are:-

PLACE NAMES for example
PEOPLE'S NAMES
SLANG or ABBREVIATIONS

 

 

Check your Spelling! Click to Go Larger Screen

Spell Check in Action

1. Download the spelling.doc file
2. Watch VIDEO 4 and follow the steps to correct the spelling mistakes in the way shown in the video
3. Save your file.
   
   






 

Grammar Check

Word marks out grammar mistakes by underlining them in green and can offer alternative ways of presenting the text.

But there limitations to Spell Checks and Grammar checks. Some of the limitations of spell checks are shown above, but sometimes correctly spelled words are wrong or incorrectly used. Examples of these words involve words that sound the same, but have different meanings. For example:-

 

• Where, wear:

• Two, Too, To:

• Four, For

• There, Their

These are all correctly spelled, but have quite different meanings

 

 

How's your Grammar?! Click to Go Larger Screen

Using the Grammar Check

1. With your spelling.doc file from Task 4
2. Watch VIDEO 5 and follow the steps to check for grammar mistakes in the way shown in the video
3. Save your file.

 

(The sound might be become separated from the pictures - don't worry you'll get the general idea of how to use the grammar check. You can also use the 'scrubber bar' to wind forwards & backwards through the movie.)

 

 

 

What you have to do!

1. After downloading spelling.doc watch Video 4 and using the Spell check correct all the spelling mistakes.
2. Save the document.
3. Using the corrected file spelling.doc, watch Video 5 and correct all the Grammar mistakes.
4. Save your corrected file
5. Tick off your Progress Grids

 

Mark off Tasks 4 and 5 in your progress grids.

 

What you should now be able to do!

• Explain how the Spell Check works in a word processing program.

• Explain some of the limitations of Spell Check writing tools.

• Use the Spell Check to correct spelling in a word processed document.

• Explain some of the limitations of a Grammar Check.

• Use the Grammar Check to correct the grammatical mistakes in a word processed document.

 

Continue to Exercise 4: Using Search & Replace