Business Writing Center

Tools

Correct Word Choice

Affect/Effect:

The word effect is usually a noun, as in the phrase “cause and effect.”

Example:  The effect of her decision to network the computers was better communication among team members.

The word affect is usually a verb.

Example: The attitude of management affects employee morale at all levels.

Occasionally effect is used as a verb that means, "to cause."  Effect used as a verb carries with it the connotation of completeness, of having done something to the full.

Example: She effected a complete turnaround in productivity by streamlining the system process.

As/Since

Though British writers generally use as and since interchangeably, American writers distinguish between them.  As used as a conjunction connotes a contemporary time, something happening while something else is happening.

Example: They turned on their laptops as the flight took off.

Since gives a sense of something happening in consequence of something else. 

Example: The flight attendant chastised the passengers using laptops since no electronic devices could be used until ten minutes into the flight.

A While/Awhile

Awhile is an adverb used to modify verbs.

Example:   He stayed awhile.

While is a noun expressing an unspecified but usually short period of time.  It is often the object of a preposition.

Example: He stayed for a while.

Generally, use awhile in the absence of a preposition, and a while following a preposition.

That/Which  

Use that to introduce restrictive clauses, and use which to introduce nonrestrictive clauses.  Restrictive clauses add essential information to the core statement of the sentence; nonrestrictive clauses add information that may be parenthetical, interesting, and valuable but not essential to the meaning the writer is trying to convey.  You cannot leave a restrictive clause out and preserve the meaning of the sentence; however, you may omit a nonrestrictive clause without damaging the meaning of the sentence.

Example of restrictive clause: Of all my teachers, the one that taught negotiation was the best.  If you remove the restrictive clause, "that taught negotiation," the sentence makes no sense.

Example of nonrestrictive clause: My economics professor, whom I just saw at Caribou, was the most informative.  The sentence conveys its intended message without, "who I just saw at Caribou."

Adapted from Richard Marius's A Writer's Companion with additional examples by Ann Campbell.