Title: Bonus Lesson: Affect/Effect and other common mistakes people make
Course: Advanced Composition for the Digital Age SP14 > Section: Unit 6: Future of Communication

What's the difference between affect and effect anyway? What are some other words in English that people commonly mess up in their writing?

Common Writing Mistakes

You've heard all of these and more many times before this, but we're going over it again. Many errors in writing and speaking are simply due to carelessness. Most people know the difference and either don't care or get sloppy. It's worth reviewing one more time as using proper grammar and mechanics are essential to written communication being taken seriously. Would you believe a research paper that was full of these types of errors?

If you already know all of these and consider yourself somewhat of a grammar geek, you'll want to check out these Humorous (only to English teachers and people who like grammar) Reminders of Common Writing Mistakes. If you know why these are funny then we'll get along just fine. Also, if you think that's funny remember that Bill Stickers is Innocent!

Affect vs. Effect

The effects of the medication affected my health for the better.

Still confused, think of Affect when something influences or alters a condition. Effects are the results of some type of cause. Take this quiz for further practice and explanation (you will not be graded )

Alot
It's not a word. Don't use it...ever. It is a lot, two words, and not very descriptive ones at that. If you never use those words, you'll never have to worry about making the mistake.

Farther vs. Further

This one's easy to learn but sometimes hard to put into practice because we usually speak before we think:

Use Farther when talking about distance or length;
Use Further when talking about to a greater extent or degree

Its vs. It's

While it may seem counterintuitive, its is the possessive form;
it's is a contraction for it is. If you do not use contractions, you will not have to worry about it.

Lay vs. Lie

Lay is a verb used to put or place something somewhere (lay, laid, laying);
Lie (when not referring to the truth) means to recline (lie, lay, lain, lying)

My friend and I vs. My friend and me

The easiest way to know the difference is to take out the other person's name and use what you'd normally say:

My friend and I are going to the store. Since you would say, "I'm going to the store," and not, "Me going to the store," we know this is correct.

Do you want to go with my friend and me to the store? This one's good too because you would hopefully say, "Do you want to go with me to the store?" and not "Do you want to go with I to the store?"

There; They're; Their

This comes up all of the time. If you never use contractions, you will never have to worry about one of them at least.

There- Place
They're- They are
Their- Pronoun referring to people.

Too; To; Two

Almost always an issue of carelessness. Proof-read your work!

Too- means also or excessive
To- preposition or infinitive
Two- a number (2)
More on this here.

Ending Sentences with Prepositions

Which elephant would you like me to take a picture of? Bad
Of which elephant would you like me to take a picture? Good

Here's an example of something that is evolving as our language evolves. It used to be that if someone ended a sentence with a preposition that they were quickly corrected and told not to do it. This really isn't the case anymore. While still technically incorrect, people will rarely be called out on it. One of the reasons for this is that people who speak correctly are often accused of being elitists and out-of-touch with the common person.

Language evolves. Get over it. What you learn as a child may be somewhat altered by the time the next generation grows up (see what I did there? I just ended a sentence with a preposition).

It should also be noted that slang isn't necessarily part of the evolution of language. Occasionally, slang words are adopted into the language, but generally not. The evolution of language usually applies to things like rules and spellings. As a language is used, it changes.

Common Proofreading Errors...
Check out this one too: Avoiding Common Errors

If you would like to listen to further explanations about some of these common writing mistakes and more, you can check out the Grammar Girl Podcasts.

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