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Is spelling important for CASPER?


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I made quite a few spelling errors on CASPER. I went into it thinking that the content/ideas were more important than spelling. Not going back to correct my spelling errors (even when I saw the errors I made) helped me write a lot more in the very limited time that we had per question. However, now I am wondering if they will deduct marks for the spelling errors. All of the words I misspelled can be easily understood in context. Random example: Writing ‘my collegues’ instead of ‘my colleagues’.

 

It’s likely that no one here knows what they ‘really’ look for… however, just wondering what you guys think about this/how you approached this? (i.e. did you correct the spellings for the words you misspelled?)

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I don't think they care all that much about spelling. They know everyone is under a time crunch, and having ideas logically communicated is much more important.

 

Having said that, if the person uses internet slang the whole time (l8er, me2 etc) I could imagine that would look poorly (obviously...:D)

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Theoretically no. The instructions at the beginning of CASPer stated:

 

"...spelling and grammar errors will not be counted in the evaluation of the responses." If you watch the video here http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/casper/demovid/casperdemo.html, you can read this in the instructions (roughly half way through the video).

 

Of course, with anything subjective, there is a psychological component. Spelling errors tend to reduce one's credibility.

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Studies have shown that people who are better spellers are better doctors. Thus, CASPER is actually a spelling test disguised as a personality test.

 

I did correct spelling and it probably cost me some points (due to lost time). I can't help it, it's just a habit of mine from writing so many essays.

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it doesn't hurt your evaluation at all. As long as it is not crazy spelling. But if you use shortcuts like gov't or w/, then expect it to hurt you.

 

Thanks for the responses!

 

I find it odd that poor spelling wouldn't hurt your evaluation but abbreviated words would.

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What about grammar and complete sentences? I was thinking I could have said a lot more if I just went bullet style.

 

def. not. They actually want a constructed answer. Have your opening, your answer, conclusion. What they want is not what they always get though.

 

As a side note, I took the time to spell everything correctly (well, i tried). I program a lot so typing speed was not an issue.

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spelling mistakes are fine as long as youre not spelling every word wrong. grammar isn't a big deal as far as i know either. as long as youre able to get your point across i dont think they care how you do it. i made mistakes and i got cut off and everything and it was still fine. they know there's a time limit

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