Where quality counts
Melrose Education Centre
Cockerel
The Microguide to ...... Spelling Errors - Sample texts
Sample Texts - What is their purpose?
How to use these texts
The texts - set 1
The texts - set 2 »»


Sample Texts - What is their purpose?
Pupils who seem to be candidates for the use of a spellchecker should not be introduced to a spellchecker indiscriminately. By using an unedited piece of free writing written by the pupil, it is possible to judge whether the particular spellchecker is likely to benefit the pupil. If you enter the word written by the pupil into the spellchecker and the spellchecker can give the target word in its list of suggestions in over two thirds of cases, it may be worth introducing the pupil to the spellchecker.
If the spellchecker only offers the target word for less than half the words entered, it is unlikley to be a useful tool for the pupil
Even if the pupil's text passes the 66.6% test, it is still important that the pupil should be able to spot the correct word in the list of the suggestions offered. This is the next thing to check.

How to use these texts
  • Mark the text that you want to work on. (Click at the start of the text and drag the high light to the end of the required section)
  • Press the key combination [CTRL]+[C] to copy the text to the clipboard.
  • Load the wordprocessor with the spellchecker you wish to test.
  • Press the key combination [CTRL]+[V] to copy the text from the clipboard to the page.
  • Now set in motion the spellchecking process. (If you are using MS Word, the suspect words are underlined in red. Click on the underlined word with the right mouse button to see the suggestions)


    The Texts

    Sample Text 1.1 - A Bomb Went Off
    a bom went of in Londing. The air put a bom and it blab up. The polis tic some wone put it the lore and there part at the bank. The men ran a way and set the bom and the bank bla up. Mott people got hert by gass fell on them.
    Sample Text 1.2 - My Favourite Holiday
    faouite holiday
    I have a lot for holiday but the faevit holiday was cuwall.
    I went cuwall biy car.
    I went srfin, We were in a shalay. It was cleen and niss vuoo.
    It had a swimming pool. It was heetd. I cood see the beech and the tree. The beech was fun and you cood do lots of things.
    You cood hird a bot for the day. it was sanday.
    I went body boding in the see.
    The body bord is smolair thean a surf bord. We are gowing back to curwall this sunare.
    Sample Text 1.3 (partly edited) - The Big House
    On November 7th P4 - 7 went to Bowhill big house. to study world war one. Bowhill house was used as a hospital for the wounded soldiers during the first world war. Mrs Currie, the Education Officer divided us into two groups. One group went into the Bowhill house the other the last group went into the Victorian kichean .


    In the kichean we wur tolb haw the mades wurct and we lurnt adat the tols. There was a big suger mand and a iscrem macr and a flur cacur and mene mor gadgets. There got met from gam ceper the fesuns and radis and dear and then thraw it on the fiar. and we lunt alot.

    Sample Text 1.4 - Truck and Drive
    truck and drive
    Lorrys are intristn and good to drive . I no a lot abuot lorrys becus i reid lorry magzens they tell you intristn things . I aseck mi unckl jock ubuot lorrys becuse he drives one so i no a lot ubuot lorrys.
    i wode lic to transport food and i woid lic to drive for cristn selvesn. I wold lic to drive a volvo and a scana . a volvo dusent make a nois wene it is on turbo and a scana is cumfterbul.
    wen you are going to a nuther cuntry you have to stop so oftn and if you are tekn a heva lode you have to get a lisins.
    Sample Text 1.5 - The Church
    Thank you for leting us see the chirch. It was ver itaresting and culaful. Owt side we sur bragens on the wall. The spairs are very high. It was nais of you to shoew us arond and anser questuons. Neckst Thersday we are gowing to the abeay where the munks yoost to liv.
    Sample Text 1.6 - Jennie
    One night jennie woek up and ran to the window. She saw this boy standing there he had a boxs of choklis with him.. She now this boy from school because he is in hur class. She late him in and snek up into hur room . Then suding her big sister came in. Fiona sholed Jennie waot are you doing. Jennie was stil in shok. Fiona ran doing sters cring and Jennie ran doing sters afader hur because she did no wiy Fiona was cring. So she ast hur and Fiona says you no wiy she sead but Jennie niver now but then Fiona told hur that the boy up stars was Fionas boyfrend. Fiona ans jennie went up stars. They went in Jennie's room and he was gon. They look all arond the house ans was gon. They went to school the nixt day looking for him and he wosent at school. after lunsh all of the teacher reped to all of the cass. that Steven was deid. Jennie ran out of the cass and the teacher ran after hur and ast wot was the mater. Jennie told the teacher the thing aboat las night and the teacher ponad hur mum and hur mum was shoct. After they mod from that tone . After a yaer thay came back to the tone. and it wosen there any moer and they went baok home. the end.
    Sample Text 1.7 - Cars and Trucks
    moste cars are two wheel drive but some are four wheel drive.
    The poure comes from the enjne. The enjne powers drive shaft. Yooshaly the powre gowes to the back or to the frunt wheels. Ife youe are staying on the rode ole the time frnte wheel ore back wheel drive is anuf.
    you are betr off with a four wheel drive vearckl in the snow and off rode. You can goe up a very steap hill. And you can go throo a bog ore a mudu feald. The treds are very wide and deap so they grip.
    they are very expsensiv becos they nead more petrl.
    Sample Text 1.8 - Billy Hughes
    Billy Hughes - the day after
    Tommy said wat about Billy Hughes?
    Johnston said Billy is to slow.
    Tommy replid we have not got enay one ells.
    Johnston said he will have to get fit. He will have to eat helthy food and he will have to prakts. He will have to stop waching TV as much.
    The hed techer said I am not going to give you a rou. I am going to tell you some good news. One of hour boys has droped out of the relly tem. We would like you to tack his plays. But you will have to get fit. I will promes to get fit and eat helthy food and prakts.
    Sample Text 1.9 - My Parents My parints want to have a holday in a camp sit in Frans this yer.
    Most pepel like to go a long jurny wen they go on holday.
    I wont to stay at hom. I wod have ise crem evry day for brefast. I wod try to cach fish in the rivr.
    I wod lik to stay at hom and play wif my frens. Last niht I went rond to may frens house. He has a big dog owt side. It barcks alot.
    Sample Text 1.10 - A Match
    A mach was played aganst Mowbray on Saturday 27th November 1999. It was helld at a park nere Mowbray school. The grond was drie and the wether was fair.
    Mowbray skored the first goal. The goals scored by Beeston were by Liam Oliver and Chris Maxton. David Ross seaved more goles than the Mowbray gol keper. The final scored was Mowbray 8 Beeston 2. We wood like to thank the parints for coming along.

    All text (c) Scottish Borders Council - Support for Learning The Microguide


    Contact Melrose Education Centre
  • Scottish Borders Council