Look Back When Checking Text for Spelling Errors

In fact, our brains do a great job of filling in the blanks, but it’s bad when you’re scanning for spelling errors. If you want to focus more on each word, you need to turn it around.

If you’d like to check your spelling again, Reddit editor Angelo Pappas invites you to read his work backwards. Going backwards forces your brain to focus a little more on each individual word as the flow of sentences is lost. This is a trick you ‘ll find in many university writing guides , especially since they often write by hand on campus. Yes, there is a spell checker. And yes, there are many proofreading tools out there. But they are not always there, especially if you are taking an exam.

However, your mileage may differ from this method. A small study in the late 1980s found that reading backward was no more beneficial than reading forward. What mattered most was whether people reread their work at all. But what did they know? They then had a mullet and acid wash jeans. Try rereading your work backwards if spelling bothers you, but no matter what, read it again at least once.

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