Q&A for How to Learn to Remember Spellings of Words

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What do I do if I can't remember?

Community Answer

Then say it the word you are trying to remember, spell it 3 times. Take a break, and do it again. Keep at it till you know it.

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Question

How do I remember the spelling and pronunciation of a word?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Make two lists, one a spelling list and one a phonetic-spelling list showing pronunciation. Refer to these lists often. For pronunciation, If you're more an auditory learner than a visual learner, have someone else correctly pronounce the words out loud, and repeat them.

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Question

The rule "i before e except after c" isn't true for all words, so how do I remember which words follow the rule and which ones don't?

Fridoon

Community Answer

There is no 100% grammar rules in any language. These are the general rules which almost 95% are correct. Just try to remember the few that don't follow the rule.

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My spelling bee is regional and is next week. The schwa sound is hard to spell. Any suggestions for that and how to spell really hard words (like elixir) just by pronunciation/language of origin?

Amanda Earnhart

Community Answer

If you study the spelling patterns of English words borrowed from other languages, even if you don't know the word you're given, you can make a good guess on how to spell it based on its language of origin. English words originate from many languages like Latin, Japanese, Russian, and so on, and each of these languages has certain recognizable spelling rules. Based on the country, a sound can be spelled many different ways. For example, when a word has a 'sh' sound in it, if it's from German, it's probably spelled 'sch', but if it's from Latin, it could be spelled 'ti'. You can find these patterns online, and even if the rules don't always work, it's a great tool for tons of words.

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How can I avoid making mistakes with English words?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Keep practicing every day, and ask others to correct you when you make a mistake.

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Can I break up a word by forming words from it?

Tanz5467

Community Answer

Yes, you can try making acronyms out of the word using synonyms to help you remember.

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Are there any easy ways to remember the spelling of the word "restaurant"?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Try saying the word out loud the way it's spelled. In other words, mispronounce it. Do that a few times, and the spelling will stick with you.

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Question

What do I do if I don't know the meaning of a word my student asked about?

Community Answer

Look in a dictionary. Almost no one understands every word in the dictionary.

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Question

What is the spelling of rebook, as in, "rebook the ticket"?

Donagan

Top Answerer

"Rebook" is correct.

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What if the words are French?

Donagan

Top Answerer

If you're not familiar with French, all you can do is simply memorize the spelling.

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How do I remember "contemplate"?

Donagan

Top Answerer

That word is spelled the way it's pronounced. Spell it by syllable: CON - tem - plate.

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Question

The rule "i before e except after c" isn't true for all words, so how do I remember which words follow the rule and which ones don't?

Community Answer

The rule is true with few exceptions, so just memorize the exceptions.

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Question

I make a lot of silly mistakes on double letters, i instead of e, -ion and -eon, etc. How can I remember all of the spellings?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Being a good speller amounts to nothing more than having a good memory. It helps if you're a "visual learner." If not, you'll have to rely on sheer repetition until a spelling has made a permanent impression on your mind.

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Question

Will learning how to spell help me be a better reader and writer?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Yes, absolutely.

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Question

How many times should I write it out?

Donagan

Top Answerer

As many times as it takes to memorize it permanently.

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