Almost every week I see mistakes in the use of "affect" and "effect". These are common and important words, especially in the IELTS writing test, so you need to get them right.
"Affect" is a verb. Don't write "affect on".
- Smoking affects your health. (smoking affects on your health)
- The Internet is affecting our way of life.
- Children are affected by what they see on television.
"Effect" is a noun. Do write "have an effect on".
- Smoking has a harmful effect on your health.
- The Internet is having a significant effect on our way of life.
- Television can have a negative effect on children.
If you use these words correctly, the examiner will be impressed.
Re:Paul Brown , no income coming to his account effect August 2012.
Is the above statement correct? If so, could you tell me where the verb is.
Posted by: khoory | Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 10:16
Thank you very much Simon, you've emphasised this point with useful examples.
Posted by: sum3a | Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 10:39
todays ielts writing task 2 topic was
if a person choose between to work or live without work, most people would say no to work.
to what extent do you agree or disagree?
Posted by: Faraz | Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 17:16
Hi faraz
What did u wrirte on this topic. Plz tell me so i'll have an idea about my bands :)
Posted by: chetna | Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 17:55
And about task 1 also. Pls do tell me
Posted by: chetna | Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 18:03
Hi simon,
Economic growth affects air quality in many cities.
Economic growth has a harmful effect on air quality in many cities.
Is that OK?
Thanks a lot.
Posted by: lewis | Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 01:22
Hi Simon..Thank you very much for this very important note!
Please I have a question..if in the writing task 2 I wrote around 300 words in a good way just as you told u (Introduction, 2 bodies and a conclusion) and I wrote the word (lives) as (lifes) several times in the essay, will that have a negative effect on my score?
Posted by: Shaymaa.Ali | Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 03:32
Dear Simon,
May I ask you a question regarding to the grammar of using 'HAD' in descriping trend?
''On the other hand, the figure for industrialized countries 'rose' from nearly 9 years of schooling in 1980 to nearly 11 years in 1990.''
Can I replace 'rose' by using 'had increased ' here?
I dont quiet clear when to use 'HAD + verb ' to describe trend in the past period.
Thank you so much!
Posted by: Peter | Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 15:55
Hi dear Simon .. Thank you for useful information .. I would like to ask you a question .. Are "effect" and "influence" used in the same way? Are there any differences between them ? If so , what are they ?
Thank you for your attention ..
Posted by: Bayram | Monday, April 22, 2013 at 18:57