“I would say that I'm probably better than average, but in the electronic age there's really no need to be. Everything is automatically corrected for you, so you really don't have to care if 'i' comes before 'e.' ”

— Larry Belenke, retired health care professional, Chicago

“Actually no, I'm not. I rely way too much on spell check when I write my papers.”

— Cassie Wyatt, waitress, Lawrence

“I'm all right. I've always been good at English, and I did well on all my spelling tests in school.”

— Tamika Turner, day care provider, Lawrence

“I'm all right. Most of the time, I rely on the spell check on my computer. I figure if it's there, I might as well use it.”

— Jeff Otto, Kansas University sophomore, Lawrence