Learning how to properly spell words or place punctuation correctly can be tedious, and learning it for almost twelve years can be monotonous. However, that doesn’t make it any less important.

Now, while that seems like an obvious remark, I bring it up because I still notice several typos when I’m reading articles or books. Not that this happens on an everyday occurrence, but it happens often enough to really annoy me. I am one of those people who will correct any grammar mistakes I see, whether typing it out correctly, marking it out with a pen or verbally correcting the person.

I don’t care as much when it comes to status updates on Facebook. It’s still aggravating to see, but it has almost become the norm to see these kinds of mistakes on Facebook. When I read a textbook, an article or a book for fun and I see a simple typo, I groan. I’ve seen just about every mistake I can think of over the years, from a simple misspelling to the wrong use of various homophones to misplaced punctuation.

When I see these errors, I automatically judge the person on one of two things about grammar: Either the person never learned or paid attention in class when grammar and spelling were being taught, or he did not care enough to proofread his work before sending it out.

If you didn’t learn it there are ways to learn now. If you aren’t proofreading your work, you may want to start. It will really help when turning in papers for class. Whether it’s reading it at a later point when your brain doesn’t feel like mush, speaking it out loud or giving it to someone else to read, please do it.

Do you think an employer is going to want to hire you if your résumé is filled with typos? How would that reflect on them if they hired you and you were still making those kinds of mistakes?How about when you’re turning in those poorly written papers to professors? The paper probably won’t get a high mark.

Believe me, grammar and spelling matter. It may seem frivolous and tedious, but a little bit goes a long way. That small, improper use of “your” when “you’re” should have been used could make the difference between a good grade and a bad one, or the guarantee of a job as opposed to being jobless.

Now, go out there and proofread!