When autocorrect is wrong.

Earlier today, I was typing a document and used the word “commodify”. Instantly, a red line appeared under it. “That’s weird,” I thought. “I don’t know why autocorrect is underlining it. That’s definitely how it’s spelled.”

I checked to see what suggestions were offered. “Commodity. Com modify. Co-modify. Modify. Codify.” Nope. None of those fit what I was trying to say. In fact, most of them were unrelated to the word I wanted.

I’ll admit the error indication unnerved me and, despite my confidence that I was spelling (and using) the word correctly, I checked Google. The search engine confirmed that I was correct.

So why did autocorrect identify it as an error? Because autocorrect is often wrong.

And, because autocorrect is often wrong, people who depend on it to be accurate all the time are also often wrong.

Many of us rely on editing software to identify and correct our grammatical errors and give useful suggestions when we’ve made mistakes. And it often does.

But it can also misguide us and make us second guess ourselves even when we’re right. It can give recommendations that are inaccurate—or miss errors altogether. And if we’re unsure or unaware of what the mistake is, we can follow autocorrect’s lead, not knowing that we’re being led astray.

That’s why I am such an advocate for human editors. We can see and correct mistakes that editing software often misses.

Did you use infer when you meant imply? Should you have used an em-dash instead of a hyphen? Are you uninterested or disinterested? While software may not pick up on those types of errors, a human editor can. No matter how good grammar tools are, they often miss contextual information and nuances that a professional editor would spot.

Don’t you think that the ideas in your proposal, dissertation, report, or conference paper are too important to be overshadowed by unnecessary grammatical errors? I do too. And so does everyone else on the Jot and Tittle team.

That’s why we do what we do.

When you’re ready for a second (and third!) pair of eyes to look over your document and make sure it's error-free, get in touch.

Or contact us before you think you’re ready. We can help you at any stage of your writing process.

Why? Because you deserve more than faulty autocorrect. You deserve meticulous editing and accurate feedback—every time.

Book a free 15-minute discovery call today and let’s discuss how we can help you look better in writing.

All the best,

Tirshatha

PS. If you haven't already, you should download our latest writing guide. It covers 12 pairs of commonly confused words (like infer/imply and disinterested/uninterested) and gives tips on remembering when to use the correct one. Visit our website www.jotandtittle.co to get your free copy.