Introduction
The primary purpose of this web page is to give students easy access to tools that might help their writing. Poor grammar or a dysfunctional writing style will create obstacles throughout your life, ranging from poor grades in college to ineffective essays on law school or grad school applications and unflattering job evaluations from employers or supervisors. I can not guarantee that this page will magically improve your grades, get you into Harvard Law School, or get you a raise and a promotion -- but I do hope that you find it useful.
NOTE: Some of the entries on this page were verified or extended with the help of Strunk and White's Elements of Style (3rd ed., 1979), Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (6th ed., 1979), Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers (5th ed., 1987), and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (4th ed., 1995).
Top Specific Problems
The following links deal with the most common problems that I have found in grading student papers. Students will laugh if I mention these problems in class, but almost every student paper will include at least one of these problems -- and I've seen more than a few papers and exams that make over half of these mistakes.
"Accept" versus "Except"
- Accept: A verb, indicating one's consent or approval (as in "The president accepted his counterpart's proposal to submit their dispute to arbitration")
- Except: A preposition, conjunction, or verb, indicating exclusion or objection (as in "Every country except the United States agreed to accept the conference's recommendations")
"Affect" versus "Effect"
- Affect (verb): "To influence" (as in "President Clinton hoped to affect the outcome of the Russian elections")
- Effect (verb): "To bring about" (as in "President Clinton hoped to effect a change in Russian policies")
- Effect (noun): "Consequence", "result" (as in "Every cause should have at least one effect")
- Affect (noun): Feeling, affection; the conscious subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes (pronounced AF-fect; this is probably NOT the word that you mean to use in international relations)
"Block" versus "Bloc"
- Bloc: In international relations, a combination of individuals, groups, or countries united by treaty or sharing a common purpose.
- So the correct international relations term is "bloc," as in the "Western bloc" and "Soviet bloc" in the Cold War. A "Soviet block" would be a small cube of wood with a hammer and sickle or pictures of Lenin (making for a very unusual child's toy).
"Border" versus "Boarder"
- Border: In international relations, the line on a map that separates two or more geographic units.
- Boarder: "One who boards," such as someone who is paying for meals and lodging or someone whose job involves going aboard seagoing vessels.
- So the correct international relations term is "border," as in the "Canadian border." A "Canadian boarder" refers to someone from the Great White North who is renting a room, rather than a line on a map separating Canada from Minnesota or New York.
"Could/should/would have" versus "Could/should/would of"
- The correct phrases are "could have," "should have," and "would have" -- not "could of," "should of," or "would of."
"Do" versus "Due"
- Do: A verb, meaning "to bring to pass," "to carry out," or "to accomplish" (as in "What are you trying to do?")
- Due: Similar to "attributable to" or "because of" (as in "John's low grade on the test was due to his failure to study") -- also "something that is owed" (as in a debt or a right)
"Dominate" versus "Dominant"
- Dominate: A verb (as in "Mexico's soccer team is going to dominate the next World Cup competition")
- Dominant:An adjective (as in "The United States was the dominant economic actor after World War II")
"e.g.," "i.e.," "etc.," and "et al."
- e.g.: "For example," from the Latin "exempli gratia" (as in "Research on the evolution of interstate rivalry (e.g., Hensel 1996)...").
- i.e.: "That is," from the Latin "id est" (as in "The goal of this web page -- i.e., improving your writing skills -- is...")
- etc.: "And so forth" / "and others of the same kind," from the Latin "et cetera."
- et al.: "And others," from the Latin "et alii" [masc.], "et aliae" [fem.], or "et alia" [neutral] (as in "Singer, et al., found an important difference between the 19th and 20th centuries").
Except versus Accept: see "Accept versus Except" (above)
Effect versus Affect: see "Affect versus Effect" (above)
"For all intents and purposes" versus "For all intensive purposes"
- "For all intents and purposes" is the correct phrase, even if it is too wordy and doesn't really need to be in a college-level research paper.
Irregardless versus Regardless: see "Regardless versus Irregardless" (below)
"It's" versus "Its"
- It's: A contraction, meaning "it is" (as in "It's time for dinner")
- Its: A possessive (as in "The dog was wagging its tail")
"Lead" versus "Led"
- Lead (pronounced "led"): A metallic element (as in "Superman's X-ray vision can not penetrate lead-lined walls")
- Lead (pronounced "leed"): Verb, meaning "to guide" or "to direct" (as in "In the business world you must lead, follow, or get out of the way")
- Led: The past form of the verb "to lead" (as in "He led the llama to pasture")
"Lose" versus "Loose"
- Lose: A verb, meaning the opposite of win (as in "It is most painful to lose to a hated rival")
- Loose: An adjective, meaning "not securely attached" (as in "The hinge was coming loose")
"Now," "Know," and "No"
- Now: Refers to the present time (as in "What we need now is a good rainstorm")
- Know: A verb, reflecting recognition or understanding (as in "I know everything there is to know about this subject")
- No: The opposite of yes (as in "No, you can't eat that last cookie!")
"Populous" versus "Populace"
- Populous: An adjective, meaning "densely populated" (as in "A country's capital is not necessarily its most populous city")
- Populace: A noun, referring to a set of people living in a certain area (as in "The entire populace was affected by the radioactive fallout")
"Principle" versus "Principal"
- Principle: A noun, meaning "a fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption" or "a rule or code of conduct" (as in "My principles prevented me from cheating on that final exam")
- Principal: An adjective, meaning "most important, consequential, or influential" (as in "The principal problem facing Bolivia's economy is the country's lack of a seaport")
"Regardless" versus "Irregardless"
- "Regardless" is the generally preferred word. Irregardless is technically a word, but it is usually used in speaking rather than formal writing, and it may be a combination of regardless and irrespective; as Merriam-Webster summarizes: "Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance."
"Should have" versus "Should of": see "Could/should/would have" versus "Could/should/would of" (above)
"Supposedly" versus "Supposably"
- "Supposedly": "allegedly" - this is almost always what international relations students intend to use (as in "The fire was supposedly started by an arsonist, not a lightning strike").
- "Supposably": "as may be imagined or supposed" - I don't think I've ever had a student who meant to use this word in a paper for one of my courses.
- See also Merriam-Webster.
"Than" versus "Then"
- Than: Used to compare (as in "I would rather receive an A than a B")
- Then: Refers to time / chronology (as in "He answered first one question, then another") or consequences (as in "if both countries are democracies, then they will solve their problems short of war")
"That," "Which," and "Who"
- That: A defining, or restrictive, pronoun. "That" is used to indicate which object is being discussed, and should not follow a comma (as in "The car that is parked in the garage is red")
- Which: A nondefining, or nonrestrictive, pronoun. "Which" adds some new detail about a specific object that has already been mentioned, and should follow a comma (as in "My new car, which is red, is parked in the garage")
- Who: A personal pronoun. "Who" should be used in place of "that" or "which" in discussing a person (as in "The student who did the most work got an A for the course" or "Bob, who did more work than his classmates, got an A for the course")
"There," "Their," and "They're"
- There: Refers to location (as in "that dog over there")
- Their: A possessive (as in "They're going to bring their new car")
- They're: A contraction, meaning "they are" (as in "They're on their way")
"To," "Too," and "Two"
- To: Basic multi-purpose function word (as in "My goal is to die a millionaire")
- Too: Adjective, meaning "very" or "excessively" (as in "The Tigers were too inexperienced to challenge the Yankees for the pennant")
- Two: The number between one and three (as in "Two losses to open a football season is two too many")
"Where" versus "Were"
- Where: Refers to a place or location (as in "Where do you think you are going?")
- Were: A past form of the verb "to be" (as in "they were going to the store")
"Who's" versus "Whose"
- Who's: A contraction, meaning "who is" (as in "Who's coming to dinner?")
- Whose: A possessive (as in "Whose dinner is this?")
"Would have" versus "Would of": see "Could/should/would have" versus "Could/should/would of" (above)
General References
- Jack Lynch's Guide to Grammar and Style
- Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
- William Strunk (1918), The Elements of Style
- Texas A&M University Writing Center - Writing and Speaking Guides
- University of North Carolina Writing Center - Tips and Tools
- UNT Libraries Scholarly Writing Guide (see especially their page of Style and Editing resources)
- University of Texas Writing Center - Writing Handouts
http://www.paulhensel.org/teachprob.html
Last updated: 27 August 2019
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