ASFE is completing beta testing of an important new risk management tool called ASFE’s Dr. English. A Microsoft Word plug-in, the device scans documents to look for a variety of "bad" words and phrases that a spell-checker will not catch. Following are some examples:

• taboo words such as certify, ensure, and safety that, when used unwisely, can radically expand the scope of a design professional’s risks while negating the insurability of the additional exposures;
• absolute words that imply conditions that seldom exist, such as full, empty, all, and maximize;
• obscure absolutes, such as bald, when used to describe someone affected by male-pattern baldness; circular, when used to describe a driveway that’s far from being round; or more perfect, when comparing something to a similar item that clearly is not perfect at all;
• subjective modifiers that blur communication more than clarify it because they mean one thing to one person and something else to another person, such as hot, heavy, or tall;
• useless subjective modifiers that blur communication even more, such as very hot, quite heavy, or rather tall;
• useless words, including (most of the time) different, currently, and either;
• clichés that tend to make all who use them sound the same (more or less the definition of a commodity), with "Enclosed please find" and "If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call" being among my favorites;
• archaisms that might as well be accompanied by "thou" and "wishest," typified by amongst, towards, and in lieu of;
• "overstuffisms" applied to make writing sound formal (whatever that’s supposed to mean), with in regard to, with respect to, in reference to, respecting, and concerning, among others, instead of the humble about; and
• accidental words that usually wind up in engineering documents only because they are typos, such as hen, hat, heir, and mater.

In each case, the new plug-in will highlight the word, suggest alternatives, and provide (on request) back-up information explaining why the word possibly should be replaced.

The original ASFE’s Dr. English word/phrase list also included "slipshod synonyms" and "hazardous homophones," but we dropped them. The plug-in checked them out whether they were used correctly or not, and that slowed the process severely. Even though a user can modify the dictionary, we feared the first use, were it too slow, would be the last. As such, users will still need to be familiar with certain slipshod synonyms and hazardous homophones, because, when they crop up, users are on their own.

Why should you care? The answer is simple: Everything you write in your professional capacity—from your proposal to your final report, and all the e-mails in-between—can be considered instruments of professional service. As such, every word you use is the equivalent of a number; every sentence is the equivalent of a calculation. If something you write is ambiguous, it could be argued that you negligently misled those who applied it incorrectly.

While spelling checkers, grammar checkers (be cautious; they don’t work that well), and ASFE’s Dr. English all can be helpful, some words you’ll just have to learn on your own. This means you’ll need to know the definitions of slipshod synonyms and hazardous homophones and, especially when it comes to the latter, how to spell them. Failing that, you could face some serious problems. Bear in mind that most liability claims arise two or more years after design professionals conclude their services for a project and, at that time, the best evidence is what’s in writing. While it may be alleged that you misled some other party, your inadequate spelling could also be used to suggest that you were in too much of a hurry when you delivered your services or that you simply are not much of a professional, given that you still haven’t mastered fifth-grade spelling.

Try this 25-question, four-points-per-correct-answer quiz (Answers below). If you score less than 88, you need a refresher.

1. I imply/infer from your remarks that you think little of my writing skills.
2. I think we’d be wise to retain legal council/counsel.
3. Often when people use "different," the word they really should use is discreet/discrete.
4. I had an opportunity to take an ASFE Write Right seminar, but I decided to forgo/forego it.
5. Utilization rate has to be the principal/principle concern.
6. A leather briefcase truly compliments/complements a three-piece suit.
7. Look at the answers below if you want to be apprised/appraised of your score.
8. Civil engineering wouldn’t be what it is today were it not for the profession’s forbears/forebears.
9. A recent pole/poll revealed that our employees do not like our CEO.
10. That lawsuit made me lose/loose my appetite.
11. Our ability to complete the work depends on the whether/weather.
12. Do you really believe our services will have an affect/effect on the outcome?
13. I like fruit for a dessert/desert.
14. My wife and I are taking the kids to the capitol/capital city.
15. I’d really like to possess/posses the ability to spell better.
16. No matter what, though, I’ll still have a roll/role to play.
17. I like staying abreast of current/currant events.
18. "Learn how to spell better" is the morale/moral of this story.
19. I wonder who it’s/its author was.
20. Your/You’re guess is as good as mine.
21. One way or the other, we’ll home/hone in on your language deficits.
22. That’s far from being a mute/moot point.
23. Misspellings look really silly when you see them on high-quality stationery/stationary.
24. The low score I’m about to get on this quiz will really wet/whet my appetite for some self-improvement.
25. As far as I’m concerned, quizzes like this represent a decent/descent into wickedness.

John P. Bachner is the executive vice president of ASFE, a not-for-profit association that provides programs, services, and materials to help geoprofessional, environmental, and civil engineering firms prosper through professionalism. Visit ASFE’s website at www.asfe.org.

Answers
1) infer
2) counsel
3) discrete
4) forgo
5) principal
6) complements
7) apprised
8) forebears
9) poll
10) lose
11) weather
12) effect
13) dessert
14) capital
15) possess
16) role
17) current
18) moral
19) its
20) Your
21) home
22) moot
23) stationery
24) whet
25) descent