In this section of our ParaPro Study Guide, we will cover spelling errors. Questions on the official exam with provide you with a sentence and ask that you identify the misspelled word. The following unit will go over the 25 most commonly misspelled words in English, as well as how they are most often misspelled or a mnemonic that can help you remember the proper spelling.
Commonly Misspelled Words
- Absence. Many people swap the s and c.
- Accommodate. Double your c‘s and m‘s to accommodate this word!
- Acknowledgment. Don’t be fooled into thinking all of knowledge fits into this word. They final e should be left off.
- Basically. Be an ally when writing basically.
- Broccoli. Many people try to add an extra i or miss the double c.
- Cemetery. Only use e‘s in a cemetery!
- Committee. The three double letters in this word can trip many people up.
- Conscientious. Not to be confused with the oft-conflated contentious, conscience, or word no. 9 below.
- Consensus. The only c in this word is the first letter.
- Definitely. Many will try to put in an a or swap le to el.
- Embarrassed. Forgetting to double your r‘s and s‘s would be rather embarrassing.
- Experience. Don’t let any a‘s sneak into an experience.
- License. Many may try to swap the c and s.
- Maintenance. Break down the word into two smaller parts – main and tenance – to avoid placing your vowels in the wrong spots.
- Misspell. The prefix is mis- and the root is spell, which is why there are two s‘s, not one or three.
- Necessary. There are lots of ways this word goes wrong: vowels in the wrong places, added letters, or missing the second s.
- Occurred. This word breaks the standard English language convention. The suffix -ed is not added alone, but also tacks on another r.
- Plagiarism. Don’t swap the i and a.
- Privilege. There is no d in this word, and the first two vowels are both i‘s.
- Publicly. The suffix is simply -ly, not -ally.
- Receive. This word receives the “i before e except after c” treatment!
- Recommend. We recommend only doubling your m‘s.
- Tomorrow. Don’t use a double m tomorrow, though.
- Vacuum. To get the long u sound, we have to use two.
- Zucchini. Don’t be tempted to add more letters than necessary, like an extra h or n.
The misspelled words you see on the ParaPro Exam may be one of the above, or they may be another word that follows a similar pattern or rule.
Example 1
Identify the misspelled word in each of the following groups:
1. Hack, sake, creeck, pack
2. Marrys, partying, glorious, embodies
3. Perceive, believe, greive, sleigh
4. Maxs, torque, squabble, locks
5. Elegent, assurance, submergence, convergence
Answers:
1. “Creek” has a long e sound; therefore, it should end in -ek. Only soft-sounding vowels get a -ck (e.g. Pack, hack).
2. “Marries” should end in the suffix -ies. If a consonant comes before the letter y at the end of the word, its plural form should end in -ies (e.g. embodies).
3. “Grieve” follows the basic “i before e except after c” rule, as do “believe” and “perceive.” “Sleigh” is an exception to the rule.
4. English does not use s directly after x. When “max” is being used as a part of a verb phrase, it should be “maxes out,” not “maxs out.”
5. ”Elegant” requires the suffix -ant because it has a hard g sound before the suffix.
Use our short review test below to exercise your spelling muscles with words similar to those on the official ParaPro Exam. Keep an eye out for common patterns and rules that trip many writers up.