cite (v.) to quote or mention as an example
sight (n.) something seen or visible; the faculty of seeing
site (n.) location; (v.) to locate
desert (n.) dry area; (v.) to abandon
dessert (n.) sweet course at the end of a meal
every day (adv.) each day
everyday (adj.) ordinary, daily
fair (adj.) light in color; favorable; just, unbiased; (n) gathering or exhibition
for sale of goods, shows, and entertainment
fare (n.) price charged for a passenger to travel; food provided; (v) to
progress (we fared well on our journey)
hear (v.) to perceive with the ears
here (adv.) in this place
know (v.) to understand, be aware of
no (adj./adv.) negative—opposite of yes
loose (adj.) not tight, not confined
lose (v.) to misplace; to fail to win
may be (v.) might be (possibility)
maybe (adv.) perhaps
morning (n.) the first part of the day
mourning (n.) grieving
passed (v.) past tense of pass (to go by)
past (adv.) beyond; (n.) events that have already occurred
patience (n.) quality of being patient, able to wait
patients (n.) people under medical care
personal (adj.) private or pertaining to the individual
personnel (n.) employees
presence (n.) condition of being
presents (n.) gifts
principal (adj.) most important; (n.) head of a school
principle (n.) fundamental truth

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263
right (adj.) correct; (adv.) opposite of left
rite (n.) ceremony
write (v.) produce words on a surface
scene (n.) setting or view
seen (v). past participle of see
than (conj.) used to compare (he is taller than I)
then (adv.) at that time, therefore (first this, then that; if you think it’s good,
then I’ll do it)
their (pn.) possessive form of they
there (adv.) location; in that place
through (prep.) in one side and out the other; by means of
threw (v. past tense of throw
to (prep.) in the direction of
too (adv.) in addition, excessive
two number
waist (n.) part of the body
waste (v.) to squander; (n.) trash
weak (adj.) feeble
week (n.) seven days
weather (n.) climatic conditions
whether (conj.) introducing a choice
which (adj./pn.) what, that
witch (n.) woman with supernatural powers
Unfortunately, the only thing you can do to master homonyms is to memorize the correct meanings and
spellings. Try using mnemonic devices to remember which word is which. For example,
stationary versus stationery: Remember that “stationery” is the one to write on because it is spelled
with an “er” like the letter you are writing.
(See page 25 in Chapter 2 for more about mnemonic devices.)

For a list of over 700 pairs of homonyms, visit www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html. You can also
find homonym quizzes and worksheets at />– GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE WRITING–
264
– GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE WRITING–
265
absence
abundance
accidentally
accommodate
acknowledgment
acquaintance
aggravate
alibi
alleged
ambiguous
analysis
annual
argument
awkward
basically
boundary
bulletin
calendar
canceled
cannot
cemetery
coincidence
collegiate
committee
comparative

completely
condemn
congratulations
conscientious
consistent
convenient
correspondence
deceive
definitely
dependent
depot
descend
desperate
development
dilemma
discrepancy
eighth
eligible
embarrass
equivalent
euphoria
existence
exuberance
feasible
February
fifth
forcibly
forfeit
formerly
fourth

fulfill
grateful
grievance
guarantee
guidance
harass
hindrance
ideally
implement
independence
indispensable
inoculate
insufficient
interference
interrupt
jealousy
jewelry
judgment
leisure
length
lenient
liaison
lieutenant
lightning
loophole
losing
maintenance
maneuver
mathematics
millennium

minuscule
miscellaneous
misspell
negotiable
ninth
occasionally
occurred
omission
opportunity
outrageous
pamphlet
parallel
perceive
permanent
perseverance
personnel
possess
potato
precede
preferred
prejudice
prevalent
privilege
procedure
proceed
prominent
pronunciation
quandary
questionnaire


150 Most Commonly Misspelled Words
receipt
receive
recommend
reference
referred
regardless
relevant
religious
remembrance
reservoir
responsible
restaurant
rhythm
ridiculous
roommate
scary
scissors
secretary
separate
souvenir
specifically
sufficient
supersede
temperament
temperature
truly
twelfth
ubiquitous
unanimous

usually
usurp
vacuum
vengeance
visible
Wednesday
wherever
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266
The following section offers specific tips and strategies to use on the AWA during the exam. Practice these
strategies as you complete the sample essay prompts that follow.

General Writing Strategies
■
Remember the general guideline for dividing your time on an essay exam: use about one-fourth of the
time to plan, one-half of the time to write, and one-fourth of the time to revise and edit.
■
Look for key words in the essay prompt to be sure you address all aspects of the assignment.
■
The key to brainstorming is to avoid censoring yourself. Keep an open mind and write down whatever
ideas come to you. You do not have to use everything in your essay.
■
Remember that your brainstorming and outline are for your eyes only. Use whatever brainstorming
and outlining techniques you find most useful.
■
On an essay exam, every minute counts. Don’t wait around for ideas to come to you. If you are having
trouble coming up with ideas, use brainstorming techniques such as listing and freewriting to get ideas
down on paper.
CHAPTER
Tips and

Strategies
for the AWA
16
267
■
A good thesis makes an assertion about the topic; it does not just repeat the topic or ask a question.
Make sure your thesis takes a clear position on the issue or argument.
■
Your planning time is probably the most crucial part of an essay exam. Create a detailed outline to
organize your ideas. Revise your outline before you begin writing to make sure you have sufficient sup-
port and specific examples and that you have addressed all of the elements in the prompt.
■
Make sure you have at least two or three supporting ideas for your thesis. If no other organizational
pattern makes sense, put them in order of importance, with your most important idea last.
■
Remember, it’s important to get going and keep moving. If you can’t think of the exact word or phrase
you are looking for, approximate. You can come back to fix it later if you have time. For now, writing
something that is close enough must be good enough so you can get the rest of your ideas down.
■
Remember to keep it simple. Your time is limited, and your readers will be looking for basic structural
and organizational elements. Don’t worry about impressing your readers with sophisticated organiza-
tion or style; you don’t need anything out of the ordinary to impress your readers. A formulaic but
clear essay will do better than one that is overly complex.
■
Remember that first impressions are important, but it’s more important to finish your essay. Don’t get
hung up trying to write a perfect introduction. Simply summarize the argument or issue and state your
thesis. If you have time later, you can come back and write a catchier introduction.
■
Signpost, signpost, signpost. Use strong transitions throughout your essay to make the relationships
between ideas clear. Remember that both your human reader and E-rater® will be looking for these

guides.
■
A specific fact or detail has more power than a general statement. Include specific examples whenever
possible.
■
In general, unless you have less than five minutes left, revise first and then edit. Save your grammar and
spelling check until after you have made “big picture” changes to your essay. If you are nearly out of
time, read through your essay quickly and make any revisions or editorial changes.
■
If a sentence seems unclear to you, it may be that you are trying to do too much in one sentence. Try
breaking it up into two simpler sentences that are more clear.
■
Remember the guidelines for effective style: be precise, be concise, use the active voice, vary the sen-
tence structure, and avoid jargon and pretentious language. Make sure you use an appropriate level of
formality and a serious, respectful tone throughout your essay.
■
Correct punctuation is important, but don’t get hung up on trying to determine whether you need a
comma or a semicolon. Make your choice quickly and move on to the next issue.
■
If you are unsure about capitalization, ask yourself whether the word in question is something specific
or general. If it is a specific person, place, or thing, then it probably should be capitalized. Remember, in
this regard, specific means particular or individual, not detailed. For example, a poodle is a specific type
of dog, but it is not capitalized because it doesn’t refer to a specific (individual or particular) dog.
Rover, however, should be capitalized because Rover is a specific (individual or particular) dog.
■
If you have the time, read your essay backward line by line. This will enable you to spot errors that you
might miss reading straight through.
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268