writermag.com • The Writer | 15ability to get other things right, too,
like the names of your sources. (And
this is even more critical at a time
when many publishers and publica-
tions have lost their fact checkers to
budget cuts.)
Proper grammar demonstrates
commitment to your project and
respect for your editor. Feel apprehen-
sive about your skills? Here is some
good news for Twitter Guy and for
you: You can improve your grammar,
and we can help.
We polled writers across the coun-
try to determine their biggest gram-
matical pitfalls. Here are the top 10
weaknesses they identified – with
actionable advice on how to fix them.
1
Affect vs. effect
Affect is a verb, and effect is
(almost always) a noun. To fig-
ure out which one to use, study the
context. Affect does something –
using proper grammar affects the out-
come of your query. Effect, on the
other hand, is a thing or a result –
using proper grammar has an effect
on your query’s success.
kkTip: I substitute another verb,
alter, into the sentence in question. If it
works, then I feel confident in using
affect. Example: “The steroids may
affect your mood.” You can swap in
“alter,” and the sentence still works.
Now try this one: “The steroids may
have the effect of making you stron-
ger.” Subbing “alter” confuses the sen-
tence. Remember that “effect” often
includes “an” or “the” before it.
Alas, grammar rules are not infalli-
ble, and there is one major exception to
the affect/effect rules. You “effect
change,” where effect is used as a verb –
but you don’t “affect change.”
2
Lay vs. lie
I’ll confess – I look this up
every time just to be sure. Lay
means putting something down flat
and requires an object being acted
upon, such as a book or piece of
paper. Lie means being flat on the bed
or another surface and refers to some-
thing moving of its own power or
already put in position.
Here are two examples of proper
usage: “I lay the book on the table.” “I
lie down on the bed.”
kkTip: I once saw a cute graphic
illustrating the difference between
these terms that showed a hen “laying”
eggs on one side and a chicken “lying”
down on the other. Now I think of that
fowl in a lay/lie situation. The chicken
lays an egg, just as you “lay” the book
on the table. Then the chicken lies
down after laying the eggs – she’s tired,
you know.3
Comma splices
Did your eyes glaze over at this
subhead? A lot of people freeze
up when it comes to the technicalities
of grammar. “Comma splice” sounds
intimidating, so think of it as some-
thing more basic – a run-on sentence.
Here’s an example of one: “Editors
rarely respond to pitches on social
media, they are more likely to answer
emails.”
A comma splice incorrectly uses a
comma to connect two phrases that
could stand independently. These
phrases should actually be bridged by a
semicolon, dash, or conjunction, like
so: “Editors rarely respond to pitches
on social media; they are more likely to
answer emails” or “Editors rarely
respond to pitches on social media, but
they are more likely to answer emails.”TO SERIAL COMMA OR
NOT TO SERIAL COMMA?This isn’t actually a grammar
question so much as a per-
sonal choice. Most often it
depends on the style guide
you prefer. The Associated
Press Stylebook, an industry
bible that dictates more of
my behaviors than the actual
Bible, does not use the serial
comma unless the meaning
of the sentence would other-
wise be lost (“My passions
include making art, music,
and peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches”). The other
major guidebook, The Chi-
cago Manual of Style,
employs the serial comma,
arguing it clarifies most
sentences.
Ask what the editor pre-
fers and stick with that.
There’s no use trying to con-
vert someone else to your
side – serial comma usage
preferences are as polarizing
as religion and politics.