Have you ever used the same letter for more than one purpose? Of course! It’s silly not to use a good letter for a number of different purposes–as long as its tailored appropriately to the audience and you remember to proofread and spell check. Yet the spell check in your word processing program is exactly where this strategy can run afoul.
Spell check in Word doesn’t like to re-check words and rules it’s already checked. So when you re-use letters, it will only check what you’ve changed. So while you should always proofread whatever you send out, a fresh spell check is also a very good idea.
The spell check for both Microsoft Word and WordPerfect includes an “Options” button, which contains a “Re-check document” option. By clicking on “Re-check document,” Spell Check treats your document as a new piece, which in your case is true.
So while you should always proof any piece before it goes out, a fresh spell check from scratch is just a good rule of thumb. You’d be surprised how many mistakes a fresh spell check, even after proofreading, can red flag.
