Affect v. Effect, and Everything in Between

A client emailed me today and pointed out a typo on my part.  I had used the word effect where she figured that affect was correct.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a typo — I was just plain wrong.  Not in my grammar, but in my choice to use a more obscure form of the word effect when I could have worded the sentence such that affect would have worked just fine.

I used to think of effect as a noun and affect as a verb.  Oh, those were the days.  When I learned that isn’t quite true, that’s when things got hard again.  But it took me years to get comfortable with the spelling of the word “calendar,” so it’s alright that I should have to work on this a little while longer.  Following is an explanation of the finer distinctions of affect and effect.

Affect is usually a verb but is occasionally a noun.  When it is a verb, it means either “to have an influence on” or, more rarely, “to put on airs” (acting in a way you don’t feel).  Two verb examples:

1. Green house gas emissions affect the global temperature.
2. Even though he was seething, he affected a pleasant demeanor.

The only time affect is a noun is when it is used to describe someone’s mood, sometimes in a psychological context.  For instance, “He had a chilling affect from the start.” This ties into the second verb use of affect because someone’s exterior demeanor is not necessarily reflective of how they are feeling inside.

On to effect, which is usually a noun, but occasionally a verb.  It’s exact meaning is subtle, but has to do with the result the subject of a sentence has.  And sometimes it just means “stuff.” Examples of effect as a noun:

1. My criticism had a negative effect on him.
2. The sound effects were incredible.
3. Take your personal effects into the green room.

Now, when effect is a verb, it is used in a way to mean “to create.” This is distinguishable from affect, which usually means “to have an influence on.” Here is how effect may be accurately used as a verb:

1. She hopes her blog post will effect a change in the use of affect and effect.
2. This new policy will effect how people choose insurance.

And, here, I’m not sure whether its a verb, a noun, or something else but make a note:

1. When the changes take effect, you’ll have to re-register.

I hope this little explanation has had a positive effect on your understanding of the differences between effect and affect.

Write on… Kimberly

 

Putting Microsoft Word to Work for You: Readability Statistics

If you have not put the MS Word Readability Statistics to work for you, I guarantee you are going to be singing my praises for showing you this once you do.

Go into the Spelling and Grammar options, and check “Show Readability Statistics.”  Choose your writing style and check all the boxes.  You can uncheck them later once you start to recognize colloquialisms or if you stop caring about clichés.  While you are still in the options, make sure the program is set to check spelling and grammar while you type, and to “check grammar with spelling.”

Here is the amazing part.

Open a document that consists of a few pages of text (sentences and paragraphs, please).  Run the spell-check through to the end.  You can ignore all the warnings because your poor spelling is not the subject of this exercise.  At the end, you will come to the Readability Statistics.  Focus on the second two sections — Averages and Readability.

The Averages section is self-explanatory.  First, it tells you how many sentences you have got per paragraph on average.  If this number is between 3 and 4, you are doing great. If not, you should reevaluate how you are using paragraphs.  The other stats in the section are interesting, but more usefully analyzed in the Readability section.

In the Readability section, Word will tell you what percentage of passive sentences you used (these are bad).  More important for this post is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (“the scale”).  This number represents the average number of years of school a person would need in order to read the text.  The scale uses words, syllables, and sentences to calculate a text’s readability.  If you edit ruthlessly, then readability will improve quickly. The first draft might measure out above 12, but you should aim through the revision process to get this number closer to 8.

I know that your average audience is going to have passed eighth grade, but even the most well educated people prefer to read succinct text.  Most articles in the New York Times, for instance, measure around a 6 or 7 on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale.  As an example, this post measures an 8.0 on the scale. If you understand your argument, you will be able to reduce the number of words you need to make it.  Doing this as an exercise will also improve your writing style in general.

Write on… Kimberly

 

Cover Letter Communication 101

I am in my third season of applying to faculty positions.  My first year, I went all out.  I used high quality paper stock for my applications and sent them by mail, I went to the AALS conference in DC in October, and I used my full laser beams* on landing that dream faculty job.  Got enough rejections to wallpaper my house.  Seriously.  Second year?  Same thing.  I wasn’t feeling so inclined to do it for a third season, but I finally got around to submitting a few today since my long-term goals haven’t changed, it’s only that I’m actually busier than I used to be so submitting applications to people who probably won’t read them has fallen a little lower on the priority list.

But while I was submitting my materials today, I realized the importance of cover letter communication.  Most people make cover letters that speak about them (the authors).  That’s fine, but it doesn’t quite meet the goal.  The goal of a cover letter is to make the person who reads it feel like they’ve had an authentic conversation with the author — you.  Maybe they’ve been through 200 cover letters, and they’re tired of it, so one little mis-step on your part gives them a darn good excuse to throw your letter away as rubbish. But make them feel like they’ve connected with an authentic, real person, and if you connect with them emotionally in some way, they won’t be able to do that.

This is where speaking to the audience comes into play.  If you speak to your audience, and create an authentic relationship with your reader, then you are 200% more likely to be able to connect with them, and *that* is the goal.

So put on your make-up (or beret, whatever), and dig deep into your charm skillz.  Make the reader feel like they know you, from the comfort of their home office, and you’ll have their heart quicker than if you baked them a creme brulee (not one of my creme brulees, mind you, but a creme brulee).

I’ll let you know when I land my dream faculty position and can prove that the foregoing is totally spot on.

Kimberly

* Laser beams.  Oh, man, this is a part of my core philosophy, so if I explain it to you, I’m loathe to get it wrong.  But certain people have “laser beams.”  They can direct their mental intention on one thing so intently, that only the gods can defy that intent.  It’s convenient to be an atheistic in this respect because no one is left to defy you when you employ laser beams.

 

The Fictional Hopper

Today, I sent out my first query letter for my first fictional novel, The Long Winter.  I’ve been told that the writing process is tedious, the editing process painful, and the submission process brutal.  Well, so far so good.  But then again, I’m only one submission in.

I finished my first two articles for scholarly publication around the same time in 2007, and went through simultaneous submission processes.   One was a Critical Race Theory paper and the other on Art Law, so different publications were selected for submissions of each.  I submitted in shifts to my first, second, third tier of choices (and so on).  In the end, I had submitted each article to one hundred (100) publications prior to signing a contract.  I could have wallpapered my room in rejection letters.  Despite the brutality, I felt like each of the articles ultimately ended up in the perfect publication for the theme of the piece.

I’ve been working at a law firm for about a year now.  I know, I know — fancy pants.  One nice thing about my job is that every day, without fail, I’m writing.  Whether or not I feel like working on a personal project, I still crank out thousands of words a day, consistently.  The practice alone, slowly, has improved my ability to communicate effectively via the written word.  Plus, my writing has actually helped people in measurable ways once or twice.

Sometimes, though, I feel like one thing dressing up as something else.  Like a little kid wearing her mother’s high heels.  I’m a writer, through and through, and its only by way of my abilities as a writer that I can muster up a decent career as a lawyer.  And should something happen, if I were to get laid off from my lawyering gig, or if I cracked from the stress of the job, it would be plain and simple writing that I’d return to.  No matter my mistakes, writing will always take me back.

I’ve still been busy with my freelance work.  I’m under contract to write for a monthly business publication, I still help out my friends at EcoBike regularly, and last month I wrote another company address for an executive.

Despite the reliability and variety of my work, however, I still have a desire to see my fiction take off.  The idea of sitting down every morning at the crack of dawn to churn out stories in the company of coffee and a sunrise really appeals to me.  And as those of you who know me know, it would be entirely in line with my fancy for homesteading.  I’ve still got the cabin in Alaska, and I could get a million more words out of that place no problem.  I’ve got a few things in the fictional hopper, and in the quiet moments, it’s those projects that I think about.

In any event, wish me luck with the submission process and I’ll keep you posted!

Write on… Kimberly

 

Magazine Article for Montel Williams’ New Magazine

I have been so busy writing that I haven’t had much of a chance to update the blog recently, but I have been working on several interesting projects.

First, I undertook my first feature magazine article for Montel Williams’ Living Well magazine.  I think this went well but judge for yourself by reading the article here.  The subject of the article is on achieving happiness in your daily life.

Second, I have been hired to help a science writer tidy up his fiction novel.  This has been a very interesting process and it has given me insight into my own work.  It has also been motivating, and I have consequently gone back and started the editing process on The Long Winter.

Third, I have done a little more grantwork since I updated last, and received a wonderful compliment from my client the other day.  He said, “I REALLY appreciate your work.  You are always on time, do not require a lot of hand holding and the quality is great (research, writing and ability to adapt tone and style specific to the project).  Congrats!”  Isn’t that a great compliment?  I am going to put it on my reviews page.

Fourth, I have written a couple more articles for the local newspaper over the past few months.  Unfortunately, the paper only sporatically puts things online, so I’ll have to have the clippings scanned in to update them here.   In the process of writing an article on the recent Taos Archaeology Society conference I got the opportunity to meet some very interesting people, which is a great bonus.

Finally, I have been working in my more traditional job in the legal sector.  This has been a boon for writing (thousands of words a day on average), but it has posed a challenge to scheduling my freelance jobs.  My turnaround time has consequently suffered, in that it now takes me a week or two more than it did to get projects back to clients.  I think overall the jobby-job has been a good thing for my freelance business though, as it has forced me to more strictly schedule myself and has given me a broader range of writing experience to work with.

Write on… Kimberly