If you're active at all on social media, you might have heard of the newest scandal to hit the Twitter and Facebook universe: a contestant's Final Jeopardy answer on Jeopardy! Kids Week was ruled incorrect because he wrote down "Emanciptation Proclamation" instead of "Emancipation Proclamation" (if you have no clue what I'm talking about, check out an article here). And oh, the outrage ensues. The contestant, Thomas, claimed he was "cheated" out of $3000, his mom is upset, and Jeopardy! fans are calling for an apology from Alex Trebek (yeah, maybe he was a little bit of a smartass when he said the answer was "badly misspelled," but have you watched Jeopardy? Alex Trebek is the king of sass) and for Jeopardy! to give the kid the $3000 he wagered and lost.
But here's the thing. Jeopardy! sets standard amounts for second and third place finishers, $2000 and $1000, respectively. Whether Thomas spelled the answer correctly or not, he would not have finished first because the winner set a Jeopardy! Kids Week record for winning $66,600 in one show (he also apparently has had a four-year scholarship offered to him). That should be the story here, I think - that a 12-year-old has the third-highest one day winnings in Jeopardy! history. It also wasn't a kids tournament - there were 3 new contestants each day. Regardless of if Thomas had spelled Emancipation Proclamation correctly, the outcome would have been the same. He still would have won $2000 and he still would have come in second place.
People on social media are saying that "spelling shouldn't count" and that "they let adults have the right answer if it's misspelled" (I almost think Jeopardy! purposely re-ran the 2012 Teachers Tournament episode where Diana gets Final Jeopardy wrong because she writes down "Waitin for Godot" instead of "Waiting for Godot" last night). I have a problem with people saying "spelling shouldn't count."
As a writer, an English major, a grammar nerd, and a spelling guru, spelling does matter. I resent being lumped in with those "millennials who don't care about spelling and grammar" because I do care about spelling and grammar. I text in full sentences with correct spelling and grammar (it drives my friends and family nuts). I hate abbreviating words (I run into problems with the 140-character limit on Twitter a lot for this reason), and I hate purposely misspelling words (why the heck would you write "kewl" instead of "cool"? It's still 4 letters, it still takes the same amount of time). I am constantly disappointed in people that think "your" and "you're" are interchangeable (same goes for "there," "their," and "they're" and "too," "to," and "two").
It's also my job as a technical writer to care about spelling and grammar. I would be absolutely horrified to realize that I had sent a customer documentation with a misspelled word. Not only do misspellings and grammar mistakes reflect badly on me as a writer, they also reflect badly on my company. It sends the message that I was careless enough to not proofread my own work, as well as that my company was careless enough to send out documentation that wasn't proofread. Bad news, folks. Spelling matters.
I have also schooled people on social media who say that "It's just the Internet, spelling and grammar don't matter." I could not disagree more. For me, it's a slippery slope to go from not caring how you write on the Internet or in your texts to unintentionally making mistakes in formal writing. Go ahead, apply for a job with a mistake in your resume or cover letter.Think you'll hear back about it? Spelling and grammar mistakes in cover letters and resumes are frequently cited as showing that applicants don't care about the job they're applying for, lack attention to detail, organization, and communication skills, and even make employers think that they are not intelligent (check out this article from Career Builder about spelling and grammar mistakes in resumes). Spelling and grammar matter.
So, I agree with the judges on Jeopardy! that ruled Thomas' answer of "Emanciptation Proclamation" incorrect. That extra "t" turned it into a non-word, and for that reason, he was incorrect. Sorry, kiddo. Spelling matters.
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