Choosing the correct word or phrase to convey your meaning is vital. Choosing the wrong word or phrase shakes a marker's confidence in your work.
Word Confusions
Many mistakes are made through word confusions. Here are the most common:
- effect / affect (an effect: a changed state as a direct result of somebody's action; to affect: to act upon, i.e. to have an effect on, somebody or something) The war affected some children badly and the effects were felt for many years to come.
- lose / loose (lose: to mislay, to fail to win; loose: to untether or untighten)
- except / accept (except: excluding; accept: to take something offered) Everybody accepted the result except Professor Jones.
- less/fewer (less is for things that are uncountable, e.g. salt; fewer is for things that are countable, e.g. grains of salt. So - less salt, fewer grains of salt; less flying, fewer flights; less arguing, fewer arguments.
- government/governance (government: the party in power; governance: the manner of government) The governance of the realm was in disarray as the government could no longer command a majority.
Wrongly used prepositions
Prepositions are short words such as in, at, with, on, over, through, between. Prepositions indicate place, time or relationship. Students often choose the wrong preposition, hence:
- different with instead of different from
- aspects in instead of aspects of
- according with instead of according to
and wrongly used phrases, the most common of which is:
- due to instead of because of (due to means caused by)
If you are unsure about which word, phrase or preposition to use, look it up or ask somebody. Never just guess.