The noun impact has replaced the noun effect in many types of writing, especially in business and web writing. Forceful and charismatic, impact is the life of the party; effect is the shy noun in the corner. It’s no surprise impact has been driving effect out of the academic writing scene.
Those who care about the impact vs. effect difference may wonder, May I use impact as a synonym for effect in academic writing? Depending on context, you may. Having worked as a freelance editor and proofreader for many years, I’ve noticed that many economists and social scientists prefer to study impacts, not effects. But should you use impact when you mean effect in academic writing? Here’s some information to help you decide.
Why do writers use impact instead of effect?
Many writers use impact instead of effect all the time because of the increasing popularity of the noun impact relative to effect. However, sometimes effect is a perfectly good choice when an effect is only an effect. Why emphasize its importance by calling it an impact?
Impact vs. effect difference
The noun impact to mean effect has been used for a long time. But there’s a difference between the nouns impact and effect. Knowing it helps you decide whether to jump on the bandwagon of writers who use the two interchangeably or use either one or the other in the right context.
- The main meaning of the noun effect is “something that inevitably follows an antecedent (such as a cause or agent)”.
- One of the meanings of the noun impact is “the force of impression of one thing on another: a significant or major effect”.
As you can see, there’s a distinction between impact and effect. An impact is an effect, but not all effects are impacts. If that distinction is important in your type of academic writing, then stick to the original meaning of the two nouns. If the distinction is not important, choose the word that makes your writing more impactful.
Do you need to hire a freelance editor for an academic manuscript? Send me a message at editor@languageediting.com.
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Last revised on 21 September 2022
