Globally Speaking

If you have a spell-checker, use it. But don't rely on it — spell-checkers miss such things as homonym confusion (for example, here vs. hear and there vs. their vs. they're) and mistakes in the use of singular vs. plural forms (for example, she went home with her husbands).

Spell-checkers miss other common typographical errors, too. For example, you might leave out an "o" in soon and type, I look forward to seeing you son. The spell-checker will miss this, and your recipient might think you're expecting to see, not you soon, but your son.

Because the spell-checker won't do a complete job, be sure to review your email message carefully before you send it. Satisfy yourself that every sentence is grammatically correct. Make the text as direct and unambiguous as you can. Try to put yourself into your recipient's point of view as you read through your draft.