Grammar | Spelling | Punctuation
Students who major or minor in journalism or advertising/public relations need to fulfill the School of Journalism’s grammar, spelling and punctuation (GSP) requirement. This can be done prior to or in the same semester that they take JOUR 1033 Media Writing. Here is more information about two options for fulfilling the GSP requirement:
OPTION 1. Enroll in JOUR 1003 Journalistic Writing Skills and complete this course with a grade of C or better. JOUR 1003 is worth three hours of academic credit and is useful for students who want guidance or need to review their skills in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Students in the JOUR 1003 course are not required to pass the GSP exam.
OPTION 2. Enroll in JOUR 1100 and pass the GSP exam with a score of 75% or higher. JOUR 1100 is a free independent-study module to help students prepare for the GSP exam. Only students who are enrolled in JOUR 1100 will have access to the exam. Students do not earn any academic credit for JOUR 1100, but they fulfill the GSP requirement if they score 75% or higher on the exam. Students can have more than one attempt at passing the exam, but the number of attempts is limited. JOUR 1100 is intended for students who are highly motivated and have a strong background in grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Current students at the University of Arkansas should consult their academic advisor if they have questions about their options for completing the SJSM proficiency requirement in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Students can also email gsp@uark.edu.
The remainder of this web page contains explanations and links to reinforce students' skills in grammar, spelling and punctuation (GSP), especially for those who plan to take the GSP exam in JOUR 1100.
SJSM Guidance
The School of Journalism and Strategic Media offers an Open Educational Resource text to help students study for the GSP exam. Click on the link below to see a compilation of topics:
Journalistic Skills for Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation
Study Online and Test Yourself
The Lumen Learning OER site is another good choice. Click on the link below to see a compilation of topics:
To prepare for the exam, you should focus on items in the first four modules. You can skip the links about brackets and ellipses in the second module.
Note that the links include some practice activities for you to test yourself.
Learn From a Book
We recommend that you study the Media Writer's Handbook. As of December 2019, an updated paperback edition is available.
George Arnold - Media Writer's Handbook - 7th edition - 2019
ISBN-10:1087236924
This book is used in several journalism courses, including JOUR 1003 Journalistic Writing Skills, JOUR 1033 Media Writing, JOUR 2003 Storytelling for Today's Media, JOUR 2013 News Reporting and JOUR 3013 Editing.
Here is a helpful starting point for purchasing the book.
Be a Wise OWL
The Purdue OWL offers guidance and practice exercises that may be especially helpful in preparing for the GSP exam. Use the following links as starting points, and notice that you have additional navigation links in the left-hand menu of this site.
Study Spelling Words
Several questions on the exam will ask you to differentiate between spellings of commonly confused words. The following web page contains links to several spelling quizzes for words used in the GSP exam.
As an outside resource, Towson University provides practice exercises for commonly confused words along with other helpful resources.
Here is a specific list of commonly confused words included in the GSP exam:
accept / except
affect / effect
aid / aide
allude / elude
allusion / illusion
already / all ready
alright / all right
alter / altar
bale / bail
bare / bear
bizarre / bazaar
breath / breathe
bridal / bridle
carrot / carat / karat
cereal / serial
chords / cords
choose / chose
click / clique
college / collage
compliment / complement
conscious / conscience
counsel / council / consul
desert / dessert
die / dye
dinner / diner
dual / duel
everyday / every day
facet / faucet
fair / fare
flare / flair
forward / foreword
gorilla / guerilla
grisly / gristly / grizzly
hanger / hangar
imminent / eminent
insure / ensure
its / it’s
know / now
ladder / latter
lead / led
loose / lose
metal / mettle / medal / meddle
minors / miners
moot / mute
naval / navel
overdo / overdue
pair / pear
passed / past
peace / piece
peak / peek / pique
peddle / pedal / petal
persecute / prosecute
phase / faze
poll / pole
poor / pore / pour
principle / principal
reckless (not wreckless)
refuse / refuge
reigns / reins / rains
right / write / rite
sight / site / cite
soul / sole
spade / spayed
stationery / stationery
team / teem
their / there / they’re
then / than
to / too / two
vain / vein / vane
verses / versus
wave / waive
waver / waiver
were / where
which / witch
whose / who’s
woman / women
your / you’re