spelling is a learned skill not a special talent. spelling can be mastered by learning a few basic rules about when to change the endings on words. most spelling rules have to do with adding suffixes in some form to a base word. this chapter reviews the five most important spelling rules including when you should double the consonant at the end of a word before adding -ed or -ing and when to change a y to an i before adding an ending.

another aspect of spelling besides endings is knowing when to join words and when to separate them. the chapter has a list of words that should always be separated like the word a lot. a lot is not a word. there is also a look at words whose spellings change depending on the meaning of the word. spelling can be mastered through learning a few rules and getting lots of practice.