Affect/Effect, Assure/Ensure, 'Comprised Of' and Alternate/Alternative in a Briefing Note
You are reviewing a two-page briefing note for a deputy minister. The note describes a new claims-processing system that will affect 1,200 clients in four offices. The analyst who drafted it is a subject-matter expert but writes quickly, and your manager has flagged four word choices as 'imprecise or wrong'. The sentences are:
- 'The new system will have a significant affect on processing times.'
- 'The steering committee is comprised of six directors and two regional managers.'
- 'Staff who require an alternate format should contact the help desk.'
- 'Please assure that all supporting documents are attached before submission.'
The department's style guide prefers plain language, avoids jargon where a common word will do, and follows Canadian spelling. Your manager wants each flagged item corrected or defended, with a one-sentence reason. She is particularly interested in item 2, which she suspects is a matter of debate rather than a plain error.
1. Items 1 and 4: correct each and explain the distinction that the writer has missed.
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Item 1 confuses 'affect' and 'effect'. As a verb, 'affect' means to influence; 'effect' as a verb means to bring about ('to effect change'). The sentence needs the verb 'affect': 'The new system will significantly affect processing times.' A noun construction also works - 'will have a significant effect on processing times' - but note that 'effect' there is a noun, which is why 'a' precedes it and 'on' follows it.
Item 4 confuses 'assure' and 'ensure'. 'Assure' means to reassure a person; 'ensure' means to make certain. Since the object is a state of affairs and not a person, write 'Please ensure that all supporting documents are attached before submission.' 'Insure' is for insurance and is not intended here. Both errors are classic confusables, and the practical test is substitution: replace the doubtful word with a plain synonym - 'make certain' for ensure, 'reassure' for assure, 'influence' for affect - and see whether the sentence still means what was intended.
2. Item 2: is 'is comprised of' an error? Give your judgment and the best revision, with reasoning.
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Item 2 is a usage judgment call rather than a hard error. Traditionalists argue that 'comprise' means 'include' or 'consist of' and therefore that 'is comprised of' is a reversal: the whole comprises the parts, not the other way around. Many current style guides, including several Canadian government guides, still prefer 'is composed of' or 'consists of'. The safest revision is either 'The steering committee is composed of six directors and two regional managers' or 'The steering committee comprises six directors and two regional managers.'
If the department's guide explicitly accepts 'is comprised of', the sentence can stand; absent that, revise. What is not defensible under any standard is 'comprises of', which doubles the preposition and is an outright error. For the exam, the point is to recognize a disputed usage, to know which side the style guide takes, and to choose the version least likely to be marked wrong by a reviewer. When in doubt, 'is composed of' is the safer plain-language choice.
3. Item 3: explain 'alternate' versus 'alternative' and decide whether the sentence needs changing.
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Item 3 uses 'alternate' where 'alternative' is meant. 'Alternate' as an adjective means every other ('alternate Fridays') or, in North American usage, a substitute person or route. 'Alternative' means another possibility or option. A format that a person may choose instead of the default is an 'alternative format'. So the sentence should read: 'Staff who require an alternative format should contact the help desk.'
The distinction is weakening in casual use, but in a briefing note it is worth preserving because a reviewer may read 'alternate format' as a format used every other time. In British and Canadian usage, 'alternate' is also a verb meaning to switch back and forth, which is another reason to keep the words apart in formal writing. The correction is a one-word substitution and requires no other change.