Words beginning with an...

Words beginning at an, such as announce and anoint, can be tricky knowing whether to use one n or two. Test yourself in this KS3 spelling quiz.

"Please, Ma'am, how do you spell ichael?" The teacher was rather bewildered. "Don't you mean "Michael?" she asked. "No, ma'am, I've written the M already"!

It takes many skills to learn to spell with accuracy. Some people use their visual memory, recognising when a word just doesn't look right. Other people use muscle memory, so that it seems as if their writing hand somehow knows what letter to form next, or their typing fingers automatically reach for the next key. These are important skills which demonstrate how much mere practice will help with spelling. Memorising certain general rules also helps. Michael, for example, could be spelled in multiple ways if you weren't sure: Mikel, Meikle, Mikul would certainly work. But if you've seen the name Michael enough times, you will know that these spellings just don't look right. Without context, few people would be able to spell the nonsensical "ichael"!