Affect vs. Effect: The Rule That Finally Sticks
Affect is almost always a verb; effect is almost always a noun. Here is the simple rule, the memory trick, and the two exceptions, with examples.
Affect and effect sound almost identical, mean closely related things, and trip up strong writers constantly. The good news: one simple rule handles the vast majority of cases, and a four-letter trick makes it stick.
The rule
AFFECT is usually a VERB. It means to influence or have an impact on something. EFFECT is usually a NOUN. It means the result or consequence.
Verb (affect): The weather affects my mood. → Noun (effect): The weather has an effect on my mood. Same idea, but 'affects' does something and 'effect' is a thing you can have.
The memory trick: RAVEN
Remember Affect Verb, Effect Noun. If the word is doing something (an action), it is affect with an A. If you could put 'the' or 'an' in front of it (a thing), it is effect with an E.
The two exceptions
These are rarer, but worth knowing so they do not throw you: EFFECT can be a verb meaning to bring about, as in 'to effect change' (to make change happen). And AFFECT can be a noun in psychology, meaning a person's visible emotion, as in 'a flat affect.' Outside those two cases, the verb-affect, noun-effect rule holds.
A five-second test
Read the sentence and ask: is this word an action, or a thing? An action is affect. A thing (something you can have, cause, or feel) is an effect. When you are still unsure, run the sentence through a grammar checker, it will flag the swap and tell you which one the sentence needs.
Not sure you got it right? The Grammar Checker catches affect/effect and the other easy-to-miss slips, and explains each fix.
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