Beware of Spell Check when writing Press Releases

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In our great technological age, we have come to rely upon advanced devices to help our writing skills. For example, consider the wonderful innovation of Spell Check. So many new writers use it like the last word, thinking it’s infallible. Trust me, it’s not. Our staff of full-time professional writers spends a lot of time correcting mistakes made by Spell Check. It’s the old story, you have to know what you’re doing in order to benefit from the shortcuts.

A recent study of Spell Check users at the University of Pittsburgh had surprising results. The Spell Check software actually messed up writers and editors who relied upon it solely for their grammatical copy editing. In the study, undergraduate students proofed a one-page document. Half the students used Microsoft Word and the other half did it without the aid of Spell Check. The results showed that students with higher SAT verbal scores made half the number of errors of students with lower scores. Using the software, those same students with higher verbal scores made as many errors as the students with lower scores. It actually dumbed down the playing field.

So when writing your next press release using Spell Check software, keep a handy Webster’s by your side or a good old-fashioned Strunk and White Grammar manual. Also, remember those old boring grammar rules you had to memorize in English class? Put them into play too.