Skip to Main Content
Today's Hours:

Rams Write: Affect/Effect

Here you'll find a student-generated guide to writing and composition.

Introduction

Students often confuse affect and effect, two different words with two different meanings. "Affect" is primarily a verb that means to have an influence on something. "Effect" is mainly a noun which can mean a consequence or result of an action. 

Examples

Example 1

Incorrect: The rising crime rate will effect the housing market.

Correct: The rising crime rate will affect the housing market. 

Explanation: The correct use is "affect" because the crime rate will influence the housing market.

Example 2

Incorrect: The new policy at school went into affect immediately.

Correct: The new policy at school went into effect immediately.

Explanation: While it's used correctly as a verb, "affect" is incorrect because "went" would be the verb of the sentence, making "effect" the noun. 

Tip

Remember!

Affect is typically used as a verb whereas Effect is most commonly used as a noun. A fun acronym to help you remember is: R.A.V.E.N. (Remember Affect Verb Effect Noun)

Definitions

Affect

  • Verb: "To assume a false appearance of; to put on a pretence of, to counterfeit or pretend" (OED v.5a) 

 

Effect

  • Noun: The state or fact of being operative or in force (OED n.1a)
  • Verb: "To bring about (an event, a result); to accomplish (an intention, a desire)" (OED v.1a) 

This page was created by/ MLA Citations:

Fall 2019

Eric Qua, Framingham State U, Class of 2023

Ryan Hunter, Framingham State U, Class of 2023

Alexis Atwood, Framingham State U, Class of 2023

 

Spring 2019

Jocelyn Barrera, Framingham State U, Class of 2022

Kristina D'Allessandro, Framingham State U, Class of 2022

Devante Offutt, Framingham State U, Class of 2022

 

Works Cited

“Affect vs. Effect: Choosing the Right Word.” YourDictionary, 7 Nov. 2018, grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/affect-effect-grammar.html.

Affect / Effect. Vocabulary.com www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourwords/affect-effect/.

"affect, v.1." OED Online, Oxford UP, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/3323. 

"effect, n." OED Online, Oxford UP, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/59664. 

"effect, v." OED Online, Oxford UP, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/59665. 

Meme Generator. imgflip.com/memegenerator.

Project Ed. "What is the Difference Between AFFECT and EFFECT?" YouTube, 24 June 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahbRqcKz8SU.

YourDictionary. "Affect vs. Effect." YouTube, 15 Nov. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFt5O_RwLtg.