Usage: A Checklist of Troublesome Words and Phrases
This section features words and phrases that have a history of being especially confusing or otherwise troublesome. Study the whole list carefully, perhaps marking for frequent review any entries you recognize as personal problem spots. Like any such list, this one is selective rather than exhaustive; we have tried to keep it short enough to be manageable. (Even whole books on usage invariably leave out matters someone else would think important.) As with the list of frequently misspelled words, then, you should keep a list of your own for special study. You can often supplement the information and advice provided here by consulting a good dictionary—especially one that includes notes on usage. See also the
Usage: A Checklist of Troublesome Words and Phrases
This section features words and phrases that have a history of being especially confusing or otherwise troublesome. Study the whole list carefully, perhaps marking for frequent review any entries you recognize as personal problem spots. Like any such list, this one is selective rather than exhaustive; we have tried to keep it short enough to be manageable. (Even whole books on usage invariably leave out matters someone else would think important.) As with the list of frequently misspelled words, then, you should keep a list of your own for special study. You can often supplement the information and advice provided here by consulting a good dictionary—especially one that includes notes on usage. See also the index and the following lists and discussions: Words Sometimes Confused (#62-f–m), Slang (#64a), Informal, Colloquial (#64b), Wordiness (#71a), Triteness, Clichés (#71e), Overuse of Nouns (#71f), Nouns Used as Adjectives (#71g), and Jargon (#71h).
above, below
Avoid stiff references to something preceding or following in an essay. Rather than “for the above reasons,” write “for these (or those, or the foregoing, or the preceding) reasons”; instead of “for the reasons given below,” write “for the following reasons.” If you find yourself writing “as I said above” or “as I will explain below” and the like, the organization of your writing may need work; try revising your plan or outline.