When editing and proofreading your writing, you should check for the following easy-to-fix errors.
1) Between or Among?
When describing groups or connections, use “between” for two parties and “among” for three or more.
Between cats and dogs, I prefer cats.
When someone started throwing rocks, the fragile détente between the police and the protesters fell apart.
Researchers have not yet clearly outlined the relationships among teacher knowledge, classroom environment, and student performance.
The CEO could achieve no consensus among his department chiefs.
2) Fewer or Less?
Understanding this distinction requires that you understand the difference between “countable” and “uncountable” quantities. You can easily count a countable quantity. Bottles or people are countable. Sugar and love are not.
He earned fewer accolades than I did.
She has less ambition than I do.
3) Affect or Effect?
You will most always see “affect” as a verb and “effect” as a noun.
When one entity influences another, use “affect.”
Music affects my mood: Upbeat music makes me happy, and slow music makes me sad.
When you describe the result of influence, use “effect.”
The effect of the hurricane was hundreds of thousands in property damage and the displacement of thousands of families.
However, “effect” can be used as a verb in one particular phrase: “effect change” (meaning make change).
We can effect positive change by giving inspirational speeches or by getting our hands dirty and helping others directly.
“Affect” (meaning emotion usually as observed in facial expression or body posture) can also be a noun, but this is very specific and usually appears in a psychological context.
His affect was inappropriate. He smiled during the funeral.
4) i.e. or e.g.?
“i.e.” is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase “id est” or “that is.” You should only use this when you are restating an idea in different words.
“e.g.” is an abbreviation for the Latin “exempli gratia” meaning “for example.” You should only use this when you are giving examples to illustrate an idea.
Use these inside parentheses and with a comma. Use “that is to say” or “that is” for i.e. and “for example” for e.g. if you do not want to use parentheses.
Multiple environmental factors (e.g., diet and parenting style) influence behavior.
5) I or me
“I” is a subject pronoun, and “me” is an object pronoun. Subjects begin sentences or clauses. They are the doers (e.g., I walked the dog) or be-ers (e.g., I am smart). Objects receive action (e.g., the dog bit me). Most writers know this, but they get confused in two cases.
The first is where you want to include the first person in a compound subject. “Suzanne and me walked the dog” is incorrect. The first person is part of the subject, so you must use the subject pronoun “I.”
Second, many writers do not know what to use after a preposition. By convention, you always use the object pronoun “me.”
Between you and me, mom’s cake is disgusting!
Good luck editing and proofreading!