How to Write Great Essays

HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 3
Word Choice
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feel bad:
used when talking about physical ailments
feel badly:
used when talking about emotional distress
fewer:
when you can count the items
less:
when you cannot count the items
good:
an adjective, which describes a person, place,
or thing
well:
an adverb, which describes an action or verb
its:
belonging to 
it 
it’s:
contraction of
it is
Hint:
Unlike most possessives,
it 
doesn’t have an apostrophe.
lay:
the action of placing or putting an item some-
where; a transitive verb, meaning something
you do 
to
something else
lie:
to recline or be placed (a lack of action); an
intransitive verb, meaning it does not act on
anything or anyone else
more:
used to compare one thing to another
Hint:
one of the two can be a collective noun, such as 
the ballplayers
or 
the Americans
.
most:
used to compare one thing to more than one
other thing
supposably:
capable of being supposed
supposedly:
believed to be the case
that:
a pronoun that introduces a restrictive (or
essential) clause
which:
a pronoun that introduces a non-restrictive (or
unessential) clause
Hint:
Imagine a parenthetical 
by the way
following the word 
which.
“The
book, which (by the way) Joanne prefers, is her first novel,” is incorrect.
Therefore, it should read “The book that Joanne prefers is her first novel.”
“Lou’s pants, which (by the way) are black, are made of leather,” is correct.
28

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Word Choice
CHAPTER 3