The Ten Most Common Typos Not Found By Spellchecker You Need To Look For When Doing Homework For Online College Courses

In recent years the number of people taking college classes online has grown exponentially. It’s easy to see why. Online classes let you take college classes on your own time, which makes them ideal for people who hold jobs or have other obligations or geographical restrictions that prevent them from attending traditional classes. Most online classes require students to submit homework and class work to the instructor through the class or school website, which means that students will have to use a word processing program to complete their work. While most students use the built in spell checker function, many do not proofread their work, which often leads to mistakes being turned in. Below are ten of the most common typos that are not picked up by a spellchecker.

1. They’re vs. There vs. Their

Spellchecker programs will not pick up the misuse of “they’re” or “there,” since both are spelled correctly. “They’re” is a contraction, meaning “they are,” while “there” is an adverb, which means “in that place.” “Their” is the possessive form of “they.”

2. Its vs. It’s

“Its” is the possessive form of “it,” while “It’s” is a contraction, which means “it is.” Again, these mistakes would not be picked up by spellchecker if they are not misspelled.

3. Your vs. You’re

Like “its vs. it’s” many students confuse “your” and “you’re.” “Your” is the possessive form of “you,” while “you’re” is the contraction form of “you are.”

4. Than and Then

The word “than” is a conjunction that is used to compare two objects or persons. “Then” is an adverb that explains when something happened.

5. Affect and Effect

Many people confuse “affect” with “effect.” “Affect” is a verb, which means to influence something. “Effect” is a noun, which means the result of an action.

6. Weather and Whether

“Weather” refers to atmospheric conditions like temperature, precipitation, and storms. “Whether” is a conjunction that is used to indicate a choice between two things.

7. e.g. vs. i.e.

Many times you may need to use these Latin abbreviations in your papers, but may not know the meaning of either. “E.G.” is the Latin abbreviation for exempli gratia, meaning “for example.” “I.e.” is the Latin abbreviation for “id est,” which means “that is,” and is used to introduce an explanation.

8. Loose vs. Lose

“Loose” is an adjective, which means not tight. Lose is a verb, which means to misplace or to suffer a loss.

9. Accept vs. Except

“Accept” is a verb that means to receive something, while “except” means to leave out or exclude.

10. Addition vs. Edition

“Addition” refers to objects that are summed together. “Edition” is a publication term that indicates when something was published.