Topic Summaries

How to improve spelling

GCSE > English Language > AQA > GCSE English Language Topic Summaries > SPELLING > How to improve spelling
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VOCABULARY

  • Read widely! Exposure to correct spelling helps reinforce words in your memory and expands your vocabulary.
  • Keep a spelling journal: write a list of difficult words you have misspelled in the past and review them often. This is most effective if it’s handwritten and in a place you see often (e.g. pin it up on your bedroom wall or bathroom mirror).
  • Create flashcards: using online apps is a great way to enhance memorisation using spaced repetition and testing yourself a few times each week.
  • Build muscle memory: go through your word lists and handwrite the words so that you acquire the muscle memory of the correct spelling.
  • Watch out for ‘Americanized’ words: always use British spelling (e.g. ‘colour’ not ‘color,’ and ‘realise’ not ‘realize’).
  • Use mnemonics: start with the list provided here and customise it with your own words and mnemonics.
  • Break words into syllables: it can sometimes help to break up longer words into syllable units (e.g. for – tune - ate).
  • Sound it out: familiarise yourself with sounding out longer words (e.g. def - i – nite – ly) to remember the correct spelling.
  • Get feedback: hand in essays or practice exams to be marked by a teacher or peer, and take note of any misspellings to add to your list/journal.
  • In exam conditions, save time for proofreading: if you want to check for spelling specifically, scan through each line backwards so that you can focus on individual words rather than sentence grammar and flow.
  • Learn some etymology: many English words have Latin or Greek roots (e.g. pre- means ‘before,’ -ology means ‘the study of.’ Identifying prefixes, roots, and suffixes can help you identify common ones, thereby helping your spelling and (bonus!) also helping you identify unfamiliar words.

Greek roots Meaning Examples in English
a opposite of anomaly, amoral, atypical
anti against antithesis, anticlimax, antiwar
anthro human anthropology, philanthropy, anthropocene
auto self automatic, autobiography, autograph
bio life biography, biology, biosphere
chrome colour monochromatic, trichrome, polychrome
chrono time chronic, synchronise, anachronistic
dyna power dynamic, dynasty, dynamite
geo earth geography, geology, geode
hyper over/above hyperbolic, hyperactive, hyperbola
hypo under/below hypothermia, hypothetical, hypodermic
logos word/study logic, psychology, analogy
path feeling sympathy, apathy, psychopath
pseudo false pseudoscience, pseudonym, pseudocode
syn together synthesis, syncopate, syntax
tech skill technique, technology, technician
tele from far away television, telephone, telepathy

Latin roots Meaning Examples in English
ab away from abstract, abstain, abolish
acri bitter acrid, acrimony, exacerbate
ambi both ambiguous, ambidextrous, ambivalent
aud hear auditory, audition, audience
bene good beneficial, benign, benevolent
circum around circumstance, circumference, circumvent
dict say dictate, diction, dictionary
form shape conform, reform, formulate
jur law jury, justice, justify
luc light lucid, elucidate, translucent
mal evil/wrong malevolent, malpractice, malediction
mort death mortality, immortal, mortify
omni all omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent
pac peace pacifist, pacify, pacification
sens feeling sensitive, sentient, resentment
vac empty vacuous, vacuum, evacuate
vis see invisible, vivid, visage

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