Can You Write Right? 10 MORE Common Writing Mistakes 2 Avoid

Note To Readers: This is a continuation of the two part series by Ms. Brenda Bernstein, the Essay Expert.   If you have not read the first part, I recommend going and reading the article here.

There’s a game embedded in this article!  In the last example for each section, see if you can choose the correct word from the [two/too] options in brackets.  If [your/you're] not sure, the answer will be revealed in the next section.

11.  Affect/Effect

Affect is almost always a verb meaning “to have an impact on.”  E.g., How did the news affect you? It starts with the letter a – remember a is for action, and verbs, including affect, are action words.

Affect can also be used as a noun meaning an attitude or countenance.  E.g., Whenever she went to a dinner party, she put on a snooty affect. A is for attitude!

Effect is almost always a noun meaning “impact.”  E.g., What was the effect of the recession on your finances?

Effect can also be used as a verb meaning to implement.  E.g., Jane is the only person I know [that/who] takes action to effect change in environmental policy.

12.  Who/That

I often see people referred to as “that.”

IMPROPER USE:  I’m looking for a lawyer that can help me with my divorce.

PROPER:  I’m looking for a lawyer who can help me with my divorce.

When you’re choosing a word to refer to a person or people, always use who.  Use that when referring to things, e.g., There are many grammatical errors that drive me crazy, and I really wish people would make [less/fewer] of them!

13.  Less/Fewer

Less is used to refer to something that can’t be counted, or that you would describe an amount.  E.g., I wish there were less violence in the world. Or, Tastes great, less filling!

Fewer is used to refer to something that can be counted, or that you would describe as a number.  E.g., I wish there were fewer incidents of violence in the world.

Dollars are somewhat of an exception.  Whenever we refer to a dollar amount, we’re really referring to an amount of money and not a number, [irregardless/regardless] of the fact that we can count dollars.

14.  Regardless/Irregardless

Irregardless is NOT a word.  Trust your spell check on this one.  Don’t ever use this non-word!  It means “without regard.”  Why did anyone ever add an “ir” to it?

E.g., I know you love your father and [I/me] regardless of how many times we take away your TV time.

15.  I/Me/Myself

The most common mistake I see with these pronouns is usage of I where me would be proper.

IMPROPER USE:  I know you love your father and I.

PROPER USE:  I know you love your father and me.

To figure out which word to use, strip away all parties other than yourself.  You wouldn’t say “I know you love I” so why would you change it to “me” when adding the father into the picture?  If you would say “I know you love me,” then say “I know you love your father and me.”

Second most common error:  Inappropriate use of the word myself.

IMPROPER USE:  Your father and myself love you even though we give you timeouts.

PROPER USE:  Your father and I love you even though we give you timeouts.

Once again, just take father out of the picture and you have your grammatically correct answer.  You wouldn’t say “Myself loves you” so why change it when you add the father?  If you would say “I love you” then say “Your father and I love you.”

Very simply, your best bet with pronouns is always to strip the sentence down and see what’s left.  Then you’ll have [your/you're] answer.

16.  Your/You’re

This example is our third lesson in contractions.

You’re is a contraction for you are.  If you’re using the word to mean you are (2 words), write it as a contraction.  E.g., Do you know that you’re about to miss the 5:00 train?

Your is a possessive pronoun.  E.g., I mistakenly [lead/led] you to believe that your train is leaving in 2 minutes.

17.  Lead/Led

Lead is a type of metal and also the present tense of the verb “to lead.”  For some reason, it is very common, especially on resumes, to use “lead” as a past tense verb.  This usage is incorrect.

Led is the past tense of the verb to lead.  E.g., I led my team to a 200% gain in profits last year by decreasing the [incidence/incident] of production error by 25%.

18.  Incidence/Incident

An incident is an event of some kind.  It is something that happens.  E.g., It was not uncommon for there to be thousands of incidents of AIDS in one small African village.

Incidence is the frequency at which something occurs.  E.g., The incidence of AIDS [between/among] the people of Africa is astounding.

19.  Between/Among

Between is used when there are only two things.  E.g., Between you and me, I can’t really tell the difference between the twins.

You might remember this one by thinking b stands for “both” (another word that requires 2 things) or by remembering the tw (tween/twins) connection.  As we saw with the number two, “tw” refers to things that come in 2s.

Among is used when there are lots of things.  [I.e./E.g.], Among the many errors made by writers, the 20 listed here are the most common I have seen.

20.  I.e./e.g.

I.e. is Latin for id est, meaning “that is,” or “in other words.”

E.g. is Latin for exempli gratia, meaning “for example.”

They do not mean the same thing and should not be used interchangeably!  Use i.e. when you are stating something in another way.  Use e.g. when you are giving examples.  For example:

There are 7 colors in the rainbow, i.e., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. (complete list)

There are 7 colors in the rainbow, e.g., red, orange and yellow (examples/incomplete list)

Now that we have gone through all 20, what are some that you can think of?

About the author: Brenda Bernstein is the Founder and Senior Editor at TheEssayExpert.com. She holds B.A. in English from Yale and a J.D. from New York University School of Law, and has been coaching individuals and companies on their writing projects for over 10 years. The Essay Expert provides assistance with college essays, LinkedIn profiles, resumes, cover letters, web copy, business writing, and custom writing projects.