9 common writing puzzlers

Competent writing is essential for any professional communicator.

Even with all our experience, sometimes we’re not sure we are using the correct word (or punctuation mark) in the right way, and there isn’t always a handy automated feature to come to our rescue.

Here are nine linguistic challenges with which we sometimes grapple—and suggestions from renowned sources for getting them right:

1. Affect or effect? “Choosing between affect and effect can be scary,” writes Vocabulary.com. which offers a mnemonic device to help you use the two words correctly. “Think of Edgar Allen