Finding misspelled words in sentences and short passages, and answering SEAG-format spelling questions: choose which underlined word is wrong (or that there is no mistake), or pick the correct spelling from five options.
Where your child meets this in real life: This is exactly what SEAG English Q11-Q15 looks like, and proofreading your own writing is a life skill for every subject
SEAGReady breaks proofreading for spelling into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Find the one misspelled word in a single sentence by checking each candidate word deliberately: apply a rule, use a memory trick, and ask 'does it look right?'
Pick the correctly spelled word from five very similar options (SEAG style), by eliminating options that break a known rule or memory trick rather than judging by eye.
Answer full SEAG-format questions: a line from a passage with five underlined words, where the answer may be any underlined word OR 'no mistake', so every word must be checked before deciding.
Three free sample questions from our proofreading for spelling course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
Read this sentence about a family friend. Choose the section that contains a spelling mistake, or 'No mistake'. [A] My freind lives near [B] the harbour in [C] Bangor and visits [D] every summer holiday.
Answer: A. My freind lives near
Section A spells 'freind' with e before i, but there is no c before it, so the rule says i before e: friend. Sections B, C and D are correct, so the mistake is in section A.
Stuck? Start here: One section breaks the 'i before e' rule.
Josh is writing a letter about a school trip. Choose the section that contains a spelling mistake, or 'No mistake'. [A] Josh wrote that it [B] is neccessary to bring [C] a packed lunch on [D] the trip to the Giant's Causeway.
Answer: B. is neccessary to bring
Section B spells 'neccessary' with a doubled c instead of a doubled s. The trick is one Collar, two Sleeves: ne-c-e-ss-ary → necessary. The mistake is in section B.
Stuck? Start here: Use the memory trick: a shirt has one Collar and two Sleeves.
This line is from a passage about a walk at Lough Neagh. Choose the section that contains a spelling mistake, or 'No mistake'. [A] We past two swans [B] gliding silently [C] across Lough Neagh [D] that morning.
Answer: A. We past two swans
'Past' relates to time gone by, but this sentence describes the action of moving beyond the swans, so it should be spelled passed, with the -ed showing the action happened. The mistake is in section A.
Stuck? Start here: Check every section, one of them is a homophone.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Caitlin proofreads a sentence in her project: "The veiw from the top of Slieve Donard was definitely worth the climb."
One word is misspelled. Which one, and what is the correct spelling?
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Caitlin proofreads a sentence in her project: "The veiw from the top of Slieve Donard was definitely worth the climb."
One word is misspelled. Which one, and what is the correct spelling?
The misspelled word is "veiw", the correct spelling is "view" (i before e, and there's no c to flip it).
The key insight: Your brain reads whole words, not letters, so proofread twice: once for meaning, then once more slowly, giving each word its own check!
Watch out: Choosing 'definitely' as the error because it looks long and unusual. Looking unusual is not the same as being wrong. Check with a strategy, de-FINITE-ly passes its test, so it isn't the error.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in proofreading for spelling, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with proofreading for spelling? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.
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