| When writers set out to produce work, they are | | | | "Accept" is a verb. (to take possession of) |
| -- in some sense -- entering a minefield. Each | | | | - The writers in my class sometimes struggle to |
| word, phrase and piece of punctuation offers the | | | | accept constructive criticism gracefully. "Except" is |
| opportunity for misstep. And while writing errors | | | | most often a preposition, meaning excluding. |
| won't kill you, the real possibility exists that they | | | | - Everyone submitted an essay to the contest |
| will kill your credibility. | | | | except you. "Except" is, on occasion, a verb |
| Perhaps one of the most treacherous areas for | | | | meaning to exclude. |
| writers is in word choice. The difficulty comes in | | | | - Will they except those writers from the list of |
| the transition from speaking to writing. Words | | | | participants. |
| that sound alike or somewhat alike but are spelled | | | | 6) Affect, Effect: |
| differently can cause significant confusion when it's | | | | "Affect" is a verb meaning to influence. |
| time to write them down. | | | | - Good writing affects people in profound ways. |
| The following is a list of the top ten most | | | | "Effect" is usually a noun meaning result. |
| commonly confused words. | | | | - The effect of bad writing is also profound, but |
| 1) To, Too, Two: | | | | not in a good way. "Effect" can also be used as a |
| "To" is either a preposition or part of an infinitive | | | | verb. It means to bring about. |
| (a verb before it's conjugated). | | | | - Talented investigative writers can effect |
| - Preposition: The writers went to the author's | | | | dramatic change in their communities. |
| reading in hopes of learning something new. | | | | 7) Than, Then: |
| - Part of the infinitive: Choosing to write for a | | | | "Than" is a conjunction used in a comparison. |
| living could be considered insane. "Too" is an | | | | - Do you think he is a better writer than you? |
| adverb, which means it needs an adjective or | | | | "Then" is an adverb indicating time (in the past.) |
| another adverb to modify. | | | | - I will edit your essay, but then I will expect you |
| - The writer spoke too quietly to be heard. "Two" | | | | to do significant rewriting. |
| is a number. | | | | 8) Allusion, Illusion: |
| - The writer submitted two different articles for | | | | An "allusion" is an indirect reference to something. |
| the magazine. | | | | - Using allusions effectively in your writing can be |
| 2) There, Their, They're: | | | | tricky for inexperienced writers. An "illusion" is |
| "There" is used either as an adverb indicating | | | | false impression. |
| place or an expletive. | | | | - Using overblown words does not give the illusion |
| - Adverb: The writers who have been published | | | | of genius, but arrogance. |
| are standing there by the display. | | | | 9) Allude, Elude: |
| - Expletive: There is one thing every writer must | | | | "Allude" means to make an indirect reference to |
| remember before submitting a query to a | | | | something. |
| magazine: Know the publication. "Their" is a | | | | - The writer alluded to mistakes made by the |
| possessive pronoun. | | | | editor when explaining his rejection letter. "Elude" |
| - Writers know that their success depends on | | | | means to escape or avoid detection. |
| hard work and perseverance. "They're" is the | | | | - Not even the best writer can elude making an |
| contraction of "they are." | | | | error at some point. |
| - They're all successful authors, but their social | | | | 10) Elicit, Illicit: |
| skills leave a lot to be desired. | | | | "Elicit" is a verb meaning to bring out or draw |
| 3) You're, Your: | | | | forth. |
| "You're" is the contraction of "you are." | | | | - Her essay on prison reform elicited a strong |
| - You're one of the most successful authors in | | | | reaction. "Illicit" is an adjective meaning illegal or |
| the country. "Your" is a possessive pronoun. | | | | unlawful. |
| - Did you meet your deadline? | | | | - The author's illicit copying of her assistant's work |
| 4) It's, Its: | | | | led to her downfall. |
| "It's" is the contraction of "it is." | | | | As with all errors, the best protection against their |
| It's a well-known fact that a failure to proofread | | | | making it into print is proofreading. But given how |
| will come back to haunt you. | | | | easy they are to confuse, consider using the |
| "Its" is a possessive pronoun. | | | | search command in your writing program to find |
| The magazine purchases its content from an | | | | them and then confirm that you have used the |
| on-line clearinghouse. | | | | correct option. |
| 5) Accept, Except: | | | | |