We all make mistakes, but the goal is to reduce them. So here’s another list of wrong words, both typos and usage mistakes, to learn from. Most of these are courtesy of my readers.

Incorrect usage

affect / effect
In their typical and most common uses, “affect” is a verb: to influence, and “effect” is a noun: a consequence.

• Your decision does not affect (influence) me.
• Your decision has no effect (consequence) on me.

But both have another meaning:

• She exhibits a bizarre affect (demeanor). (Primarily a psychology term.)
• The students were not able to effect (bring about) a change in the curriculum.

I do not have a good mnemonic device to remember the correct meanings of these words. I just had to memorize them.

ambiguous / vague
“Ambiguous” means susceptible of two different meanings, but “vague” means abstract and incapable of being pinned down. The two are different. Many lawyers use “ambiguous” when they mean “vague”:

• You cannot define what a reasonable person would do. It’s ambiguous.

No, it’s vague.

principle / principal
“Principle” means a fundamental truth or law, while “principal” (as a noun) means the governor of a school or an original sum of money. As an adjective, “principal” means main or chief. Simple mnemonics have never worked for me with this pair. I still sometimes consult a dictionary to be sure I’m right.

And there’s nothing wrong with consulting a dictionary. I had an “A” student turn in a brief about “tortuous interference with contract,” and when I pointed out that she should have written “tortious,” she said, “Yes, I thought so, but the spell-checker highlighted it as wrong.” When I suggested that she could have consulted a dictionary, she replied, “Of course, I should have, but I assumed the spell-checker was right and I was wrong.”

When in doubt, check it out.

scan / skim
“Scan” means to take in every part of a document: think about what a scanner does. “Skim” means to go over something quickly, getting just the highlights. So better writers don't write this:

• I was in a hurry, so I only had time to scan the brief.

That should be “skim.”

Typos

martial / marital
If you practice family law, you don’t want to provoke laughter by referring to “martial relations.” For family lawyers, it’s worth doing a search for “martial.”

statue / statute
Another one the spell-checker won’t catch. Proofread carefully.

pubic / public
The granddaddy of them all--a real howler. Don’t let yourself be the one to cause the howling.

therefore / therefor
“Therefor” is an archaism that means for it or in its place. It has no place in modern legal writing, I say. No one should write like this:

• If you cannot locate the product, we will send another as a substitute therefor.

Even worse, I worked for someone who incorrectly used “therefor,” in place of the conjunctive adverb “therefore.”

• Therefor, we ask the court to grant our request.

Denied.