Spelling in two weeks, how can I?

[Starstreams]

I was just wondering, since I’ve used MS word for over 8 years to correct my spelling I have gotten horrible at spelling to the point that I have to rearrange what I want to write in a class room environment.
Well I have an English 102 class starting in two weeks, is there anything anyone could recommend that I can do to at least master my most commonly used words so that I’m not so helpless

Advanced Thanks!

[rancher247]

There are a bunch of online resources you can use to improve your spelling.
Just google "improve spelling"!
Here are some links I found which may be helpful.
Spelling it Right - Learn to spell confidently
Learn English - English Spelling Guide - How to improve your spelling
Improve Your Spelling « LearningNerd
Yahoo! Answers - What can I do to improve my spelling?

You may also want to use a book:
Spelling Success Express - General spelling helpers

Hope this helps!!

[Starstreams]

Nice links rancher!
I guess there is no quick trick but them books do look cool, I'll grab a few.
I saved them links, thanks for posting them!

[Tdol]

Be conscious of words you have difficulty with and use synonyms.

[Starstreams]

Hi Tdol, interesting.
Synonyms? What do you mean by “use them”? How?.

One trick I just learned from them links posted above was to separate compound words, Ex:
Packaging
Pack-a-ging

[rancher247]

I think Tdol means that you should take each word that you say and try to think of or do a search at thesaurus.com for synonyms which are more difficult to spell and so learn how to spell those harder words, if that makes sense. :)

[Starstreams]

Yes, I see now
I do that now, I guess I just need to start writing stuff out and get away from the MS word Spell check. Although I never did fully learn all the grammer rules when I was in school I am doing so now.

Thanks guys for your advice!

[Tdol]

I know I have difficulty remembering a word like 'de(s)si(c)cated', so I would avoid it in class or learn it once and for all. Try to be aware of letter patterns that cause trouble, say ones like -ence and -ance, and try to master them and try not to use them when unsure.

[Starstreams]

Good advice.
Those are good ones. It would be cool to have a web site where you could hear certain sounds like that, Dictionary.com use to let you listen and download the .wav sound files if you paid and logged in, but now it seems they put a stop to the downloading of the files. it was nice becouse I would save the sounds and refere back to just the ones I needed if I forgot during my English 101 class.

[Tdol]

Merriam-Webster Online let's you hear the files.