Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

It is important to use the right or correct word and avoid using the wrong word.

This is an old fundamental in writing and speaking. Why am I writing about this? Because I continue to encounter professionals who make this error often.

What is the right word and the wrong word? Consider cooking a potato. Put a raw potato into a pot containing water. Heat the pot of water containing the potato. The water bubbles and the potato cooks. Did we fry the potato or boil the potato? Which is the right word—fry or boil? Well, the accepted right word is boil. That is what happens to a potato when it sits in boiling water.

Quality assurance and quality control are not the same words and they don’t mean the same thing. One is the right word in some situations and the wrong word in other situations.

Function and attribute are not the same words and they don’t mean the same thing. One is the right word in some situations and the wrong word in other situations.

Analyze and test are not the same words and they don’t mean the same thing. One is the right word in some situations and the wrong word in other situations.

This could continue for days with more examples.

There are days when I am tired and I grab the first word that spills from my brain. If I have the energy, I stop myself. I look up the word (the Internet is a big help here) to ensure what spilled from my brain is the right or wrong word. Fatigue is a difficult foe. Please do what is needed to use the right word.