170 Essential Skills for Health Careers Success
Spelling
In the classroom as well as in the workplace, writing containing spell-
ing mistakes will detract from the message being delivered. Errors can take
away from the sentence’s meaning. If combined with a limited vocabulary
and poor sentence structure, these mistakes will most likely earn you a
poor grade, or you may be asked to redo your assignment.
Today, poor spellers may rely on the spell-check programs built into
their word processors, but the automatic spell-check does not catch every
misspelling. Your spell-check program may not recognize many medical
terms which may have complicated spellings. Additionally, the program
cannot help you if you substitute the wrong word, spelled correctly, for a
word you intended to use.
The following are some basic English language spelling rules that
should be followed closely:
• The letter q is followed by the letter u, with few exceptions.
• The letter s never follows x.
• The letter y, not i, is used at the end of English words.
Examples: my, by, why, and shy
• In spelling a short vowel sound, only one letter is needed.
Examples: bed, it, lot, and up
• If a word ends with a silent and fi nal e, drop the e when adding an
ending that begins with a vowel.
Example: rope becomes roping; come becomes coming
• One of the most common spelling rules taught to elementary school
children is: i before e, except after c, unless it says a (pronounced with
a long a) as in neighbor and weigh.
Examples: receipt, brief, or thief
• When adding an ending to a word that ends with y, simply change
the y to i if it is preceded by a consonant.
Example: try becomes tries; fl y becomes fl ies
One of the most frustrating aspects of the English language is the
number of exceptions to spelling rules. Memorization of spellings may be
necessary, especially in the case of medical terminology when you may
Media Mistakes
What grammar mistakes do you often hear in the media? Of the examples
listed previously, which mistakes do you commonly make? How can you
avoid them in the future? Is it important to you that you use good grammar?
Extend Your Knowledge