One of the hardest things for a student to do, I think, is to check through recently completed work. There is always the sense, particularly with someone arduous or transitory, to simply leave it and move onto something new. Yet this week I have seen some shocking typos in the work I have delivered, in a whole school literacy resource advertised on the TES, and on the front page of my website.
Truth be told, I think that these errors create, at best, a poor impression – that the person making the resource simply doesn’t care. And in some ways they’ll be right.
However, I do not think the teacher who created the literacy resource did so without some care – the resource itself is beautifully presented and largely effective. My website and my resources will enhance teaching for those willing to use them. But why not take time to correct typos?
Some typos are easy to correct. I often type ‘teh’ for ‘the’ for example, and that mistake can be corrected in moments. Even more often, though, I edit sentences and leave conjugations and clauses hanging. It is a lazy habit, I think. However, if the work is to be seen once by colleague or a student, I am more willing to ensure its completion and internal coherence than procrastinate over the extra 5% required to check through for typos. Is this a sound attitude? I check through typos on our school website, and I check through on typos on application forms or letters of complaint. Those are worth doing well.
For many other things, they are just worth doing in themselves.
