Fiducia TogetherHomophones and common errors
The mistakes that cost accuracy marks most often, and how to stop making them.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Homophones sound alike and are spelled differently: their, there and they're; your and you're; its and it's; to, too and two; effect and affect.
Where it applies
Every written subject. Technical accuracy is separately assessed in English and credited in several other subjects.
How it works
Most of these are not knowledge gaps but speed errors — the hand writes the commoner form. That is why proofreading catches them and revision does not.
Apostrophes carry two jobs, possession and omission, and 'its' is the exception: possessive with no apostrophe.
How to use it in your work
Keep a personal list of the ones YOU get wrong and check for them specifically at the end.
Proofread once for sense and once for full stops and apostrophes. Two passes catch far more than one.
Read the last sentence of every paragraph. Errors cluster where concentration drops.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification and mark scheme.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The English Exam Survival Song How to approach the English papers under time pressure.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.