Proper spelling and grammar in emails: It’s important

Are you driven nuts by harmless typos in your brother’s emails? YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Read these confessions of a fanatic editor of—yes, it’s true—pop-radio song lyrics.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

I’m compulsive. I want to edit everything I see and hear. It doesn’t matter if it’s copy on a cereal box or song lyrics on the radio. (Why does John Mellencamp sing, “I cannot forget from where it is that I come from“? That extra “from” has bothered me for 30 years.)

Typos and incorrect grammar in emails drive me insane. (Nothing more embarrassing than responding to someone’s rant on Facebook and discovering a typo in what I posted.)

Imagine: Some people don’t even notice typos!

Many people don’t care about, or even notice, such things. Two researchers at the University of Michigan—Julie Boland, a cognitive psychologist specializing in language comprehension, who shares my obsession, and Robin Queen, a sociolinguist who doesn’t— wanted to find out why. FREE GUIDE:10 ways to improve your writing today. Download now.

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.