{"id":52,"date":"2015-07-19T03:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-07-19T03:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/styleforstudents\/?post_type=chapter&p=52"},"modified":"2015-07-21T18:50:46","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T18:50:46","slug":"introduction-commonly-misused-terms-and-phrases","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-styleforstudents-1\/chapter\/introduction-commonly-misused-terms-and-phrases\/","title":{"raw":"Introduction - Commonly Misused Terms and Phrases","rendered":"Introduction – Commonly Misused Terms and Phrases"},"content":{"raw":"
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When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, \u201cDid\r\nyou sleep good?\u201d I said, \u201cNo, I made a few mistakes.\u201d\r\n\u2014Steven Wright<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\nThis chapter is for everyone. We have all made the mistakes described herein. How many times have you found yourself puzzling over the distinction between \u201caffect\u201d and \u201ceffect,\u201d \u201cit\u2019s\u201d and \u201cits\u201d? It is not surprising that we maintain such uncertainties, because in any town in America you can find billboards and road signs and ads and newspapers with outright usage errors such as these printed boldly for all to see:\r\n

\u201cMan Alright After Crocodile Attack\u201d (\u201cAlright\u201d should be \u201cAll Right\u201d)\r\n\r\n\u201cThis Line Ten Items or Less\u201d (\u201cLess\u201d should be \u201cFewer\u201d)\r\n\r\n\u201cAuction at This Sight: One Week\u201d (\u201cSight\u201d should be \u201cSite\u201d)\r\n\r\n\u201cViolent Storm Effects Thousands\u201d (\u201cEffects\u201d should be \u201cAffects\u201d)<\/blockquote>\r\nPerhaps there is little need here to preach about the value of the material in this chapter. Quite simply, in formal writing, conventions have been established to aid us in choosing the best term for the circumstances, and you must make it your business to learn the rules regarding the trickiest and most misused terms. You can also dig up style handbooks with recommendations on using tricky terminology within your discipline. For instance, Geowriting: A Guide to Writing, Editing, and Printing in Earth Science<\/a><\/em>, by Robert Bates, gives advice on using such terms as \u201careal,\u201d \u201clithology,\u201d \u201cterrane,\u201d and \u201czone\u201d; medical students can turn to The Aspen Guide to Effective Health Care Correspondence<\/a><\/em> or Writing, Speaking, and Communication Skills for Health Professionals<\/a><\/em> for advice on commonly used contractual terms including \u201dyellow-dog contract\u201d and \u201capostolate.\u201d If you do not mind investing about 40 bucks, you could purchase The Chicago Manual of Style<\/em><\/a>, essentially a bible for book publishers, which answers almost every conceivable style question. Finally, recognize that companies and institutions often develop their own style guides for internal use to address common issues. As an example, my home institution of Penn State publishes Editorial Style<\/em><\/a>, which addresses local style issues related to such things as campus building names and academic titles. Never hesitate to look up a term for its proper usage if you are uncertain\u2014there is a lot to be said for being correct.\r\n
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Self-Study<\/h3>\r\nFor a searchable and comprehensive list of commonly misused words and phrases and some practice quizzes, visit these sites:\r\n\r\nCommon errors in English usage page from Washington State University<\/a>\r\n\r\n\"Notorious Confusables\" page from Capital Community College<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, \u201cDid
\nyou sleep good?\u201d I said, \u201cNo, I made a few mistakes.\u201d
\n\u2014Steven Wright<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This chapter is for everyone. We have all made the mistakes described herein. How many times have you found yourself puzzling over the distinction between \u201caffect\u201d and \u201ceffect,\u201d \u201cit\u2019s\u201d and \u201cits\u201d? It is not surprising that we maintain such uncertainties, because in any town in America you can find billboards and road signs and ads and newspapers with outright usage errors such as these printed boldly for all to see:<\/p>\n

\u201cMan Alright After Crocodile Attack\u201d (\u201cAlright\u201d should be \u201cAll Right\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Line Ten Items or Less\u201d (\u201cLess\u201d should be \u201cFewer\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cAuction at This Sight: One Week\u201d (\u201cSight\u201d should be \u201cSite\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cViolent Storm Effects Thousands\u201d (\u201cEffects\u201d should be \u201cAffects\u201d)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Perhaps there is little need here to preach about the value of the material in this chapter. Quite simply, in formal writing, conventions have been established to aid us in choosing the best term for the circumstances, and you must make it your business to learn the rules regarding the trickiest and most misused terms. You can also dig up style handbooks with recommendations on using tricky terminology within your discipline. For instance, Geowriting: A Guide to Writing, Editing, and Printing in Earth Science<\/a><\/em>, by Robert Bates, gives advice on using such terms as \u201careal,\u201d \u201clithology,\u201d \u201cterrane,\u201d and \u201czone\u201d; medical students can turn to The Aspen Guide to Effective Health Care Correspondence<\/a><\/em> or Writing, Speaking, and Communication Skills for Health Professionals<\/a><\/em> for advice on commonly used contractual terms including \u201dyellow-dog contract\u201d and \u201capostolate.\u201d If you do not mind investing about 40 bucks, you could purchase The Chicago Manual of Style<\/em><\/a>, essentially a bible for book publishers, which answers almost every conceivable style question. Finally, recognize that companies and institutions often develop their own style guides for internal use to address common issues. As an example, my home institution of Penn State publishes Editorial Style<\/em><\/a>, which addresses local style issues related to such things as campus building names and academic titles. Never hesitate to look up a term for its proper usage if you are uncertain\u2014there is a lot to be said for being correct.<\/p>\n

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Self-Study<\/h3>\n

For a searchable and comprehensive list of commonly misused words and phrases and some practice quizzes, visit these sites:<\/p>\n

Common errors in English usage page from Washington State University<\/a><\/p>\n

“Notorious Confusables” page from Capital Community College<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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