The Regents ELA Exam: Spelling Tips

You are, of course, expected to spell correctly common words, the key terms of your essay, and the names of authors, titles, and characters. An occasional misspelling in an on-demand piece of writing should not lower your score if all other elements are good.

Be especially careful to proofread for these very common errors—they mar the overall impression that your essay makes on the reader.

1. accept/except
2. To accept is to receive, take willingly, agree to:
3. I accept your offer, apology, invitation
4. To except is to exclude, to separate out:
5. I will except you from the requirement.
6. Except is also a preposition:
7. Everyone except him will be leaving on Tuesday.
8. affect/effect
9. To affect (v.) means to move, influence, or change.
10. To affect also means to put on an artificial quality of personality or character; an exaggerated or artificial person may be called affected.
11. The effects (n.) are the consequences or results.
12. To effect (v.) means to put into action, to complete—a plan or a change, for example.
13. could of/should of
14. You mean could have/should have.
15. Do not make this unfortunate confusion in the way words sound!
16. hear/here
17. You may put your things here on the table.
18. I cannot hear you with all the noise outside.
19. its/it’s
20. it’s =a contraction for it is
21. its = a possessive form; do not add an apostrophe
22. loose/lose
23. Be careful not to lose your ticket; it cannot be replaced.
24. The dog ran loose when the leash broke.
25. principal/principle
26. Lack of effort is often the principal reason for failure.
27. Many consider honesty a fundamental principle in their lives.
28. than/then
29. My sister is several years younger than I am.
30. You will answer multiple-choice questions, then complete your essays.
31. there/their/they’re
32. There he goes! It is over there.
33. Students should bring their books to class everyday.
34. They’re = they are
35. to/too/two
36. You will have two weeks to complete the reading assignment; do not put it off until it is too late.
37. who’s/whose
38. Who’s (who is) that coming down the hall?
39. Whose books are these lying on the floor?