went straight four the ‘just write’ bowl. She scoffed the lot.
Tyred, Goldilocks decided to sit down on a chair. One was two hard, one to soft, the other just write butt – you’ve guessed it – when she sat down it broke into tiny peaces. “What a terrible effect I am having on this place,” thought Goldilocks, as she slowly went upstairs to the bedrooms, glancing in the mirror as she did so (she was terribly vane!).
Off she went to sleep in the tiniest bed, and was so out of it she didn’t here the three bares coming back.
“Fee, fi fo!” Sorry, wrong fairy tail. “Whose been eating my porridge? Grate! Its all gone.” … etc
Anyway, to cut a long storey short, they found her, woke her up and she dived out of the window, opening her parashoot for a soft landing. She ran off, never to be scene again.
Now silly, as that tale is, it illustrates the depths, breadths and potential pitfalls of the English language. Not many of the words in the story will show up on a spell check (because they aren’t spelt incorrectly) but they are still the wrong versions.
So, why do you need to know how to spell and punctuate? Well, for one thing, in business, a badly spelled letter, newsletter or website could alienate people. Not just pedants like me but others who will think that shoddy spelling equals shoddy work. If you don’t look professional, people may think you aren’t professional.
And if you don’t trust yourself to write or proofread your own copy, then hire a professional (such as myself) who will do the job for you, freeing you up to concentrate on what you are good at –