Help me decipher this NullPointerException

Question

I've done all that I can to figure out why I'm getting this NullPointerException.
Thanks in advancd for your help.
Jason
Here is were I'm calling the class from:
SpellDictionary dictionary;
//bunch of code .....
public void test(){
     boolean foo = dictionary.isCorrect("word");
     System.out.println(foo);
Here is the complete class I'm calling:
package com.swabunga.spell.engine;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import java.net.*;
public class SpellDictionary {
     private Transformator tf = null;
     * Returns the code representing the word.
     public String getCode(String word) {
          tf = new DoubleMeta();
          return tf.transform(word);
     * Returns true if the word is correctly spelled against the current word list.
     public boolean isCorrect(String word) {
               System.out.println("isCorrect");
               String words;
               try {
               URL url;
               URLConnection urlConn;
               DataOutputStream dos;
               url = new URL("http://jason.governet.net/spelling/check.cfm?word=" + word + "&soundex1=" + getCode(word));
                    System.out.println(url);
               urlConn = url.openConnection();
               urlConn.setDoInput(true);
               urlConn.setDoOutput(true);
               urlConn.setUseCaches(false);
               urlConn.setRequestProperty ("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
                    // the server responce
               BufferedReader dis = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(urlConn.getInputStream()));
               words = dis.readLine();
               dis.close();
          catch (Exception ex) {
                    System.out.println("check word error ");
                    System.err.println("SpellChecker error: "+ex.toString());
                    ex.printStackTrace();
                    return false;
          //LinkedList possible = getWords(getCode(word));
          if (words.trim().equals("1"))
               return true;
          return false;

Answer 1

Also, next time, please format your code (see the link that says "Formatting Help" right above the message entry box), and please be more specific. You left out where you were getting the exception, and possibly the very code that causes it--or, if I guessed right, the code where lack of an additional line of code is causing it.
The more relevant information you provide, the easier it is for people to answer your question. Notice the emphasis on relevant. Pasting in all of your code doesn't usually help a whole lot. Sometimes, taking the time to think about what's relevant, and how to best explain your problem without piling on tons of useless information, will allow you to solve the problem without even posting here.
</rant>
That's not directed just at you. It's also another general venting at the many poorly thought out questions posted here.