I often ask students to share their opinions and ideas with me via email. Those that do tend to be passionate about those ideas, and the phrase "I like {topic of academic affection} alot!" tends to appear in my inbox, a lot. My replies always include a gentle reminder to watch spelling and spacing.
Allie Brosh at Hyperbole and a Half created this hairy little monster to help with her "compulsive need to correct other people's grammar." While I don't share the compulsion, I do want to help my students develop effective communication skills. I plan to begin attaching one of the below images to offending messages to provide a lighthearted visual reminder to avoid this common grammatical error.
Does the alot appear often in your students' writing? Consider printing a small poster of the below images or including a smaller version in your handouts.
