Editorial Tip of the Week: Affect/Effect
Written by Kwittken & Co. on April 24, 2009
Affect: as a verb, to influence; as a noun, the term is best avoided unless you are using it in a psychological sense to describe an emotion.
Example: The sight of a plane flying just above the building tops in lower Manhattan affected the state of mind of nearly every person in our building.
Effect: as a verb, to cause; as a noun, the result.
Example: Every paper, news channel and online outlet is fixated upon swine flu. This sort of round-the-clock coverage tends to effect mass paranoia.
Example: I understand what you’re saying about results, but I don’t really think we will really be able to see the full effects of Obama’s actions during his first 100 days for years.
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