Rewind 15 years...The first class you take as a journalism or corporate journalism student at Auburn University was a class called JRNL 1100. In my day, the professor gave four tests and if you scored below an 83 on any of them, you repeated the entire class. The four tests were spelling, word usage, Associated Press style and a combo test. It's such a nightmare there's a Facebook page devoted to it.

Luckily, spelling has always been my forte. And the class taught me to be an excellent proofreader. It also gave me some new pet peeves: over vs. more than being at the top.

On Twitter, there's a group of folks who post about PR mishaps. Christiane Truelove, the editor-in-chief of Med Ad News and R&D Directions, recently tweeted:
Here's a tip: when e-mailing me inquiring about editorial opportunities, don't spell it "editoriol." #PRfail
Now, I'm not saying that I never make mistakes, that's hardly the case. But, e-mails to reporters, clients and prospects probably deserve a second look. It could cost you the pitch or the job.

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