a v an

a (one) v an (one - before a word starting with a vowel ) eg ... opening an original data source

access v assess

access (get at) v assess (to judge)

allot v a lot

allot (to assign) v a lot (many)

allowed v aloud

allowed (permitted) v aloud (heard)

anything v any thing

anything (a pronoun) v any thing (usually incorrect)

are

see our

bandwidth v band width

bandwidth (communication capacity) v band width (width of a band)

bare v bear

bare (nude) v bear (animal)

board v bored

board (piece of wood) v bored (teenager)

brake v break

brake (stop) v break (smash)

businesses v business's

businesses (several businesses) v business's (belongs to one)

can't

contraction of 'can not'  
 (' this inverted comma, tells the reader that there are some letters missing)

check v cheque

check (correct) v cheque (money)

coarse v course

coarse (crude) v course (race)

commonplace v common place

commonplace (frequent) v common place

company's v companies v companies'

company's (belongs to a company) v companies (several companies) v companies' (belongs to several companies)

could've

contraction of 'could have' - too informal for reports

definitely

note spelling

dependant v dependent

dependant (noun: a relative) v dependent (adjective: being dependent)

don't

contraction of 'do not'

flaw v floor

flaw (error) v floor (in a room)

form v from

'gonna' (not a word)

going to

hasn't

contraction of 'has not'

have v of v off

have (to possess) v of (part of something) v off (to take off). Most commonly confused in speech. Examples: ".. the method that could have been used was direct observation." "Please may I have a slice of that cake." "Get your kit off"

haven't

contraction of 'have not'

hour v our v are

see our

I'd

contraction of 'I would' or 'I should'

'innit' (not a word)

usually used to mean "isn't it" (contraction of 'is not it')

input v inputted (not a word)

input v inputted (not a word) eg .. the data was input last week

isn't

contraction of 'is not'

its v it's

its (belongs to it - note that this is a possessive without an apostrophe) v it's (contraction of 'it is')

knew v new

knew (knowledge) v new (just purchased)

know v now

know (knowledge) v now (this moment)

no-one

not 'no one'

of v off v have

see have

our v hour v are

our (belongs to us) v hour (60 minutes) v are (to be). Example: "These are our hours of work"

pane v pain

pane (window) v pain (hurt)

peace v piece

peace (calm) v piece (bit)

plain v plane

plain (not fancy) v plane (airplane)

practice v practise

practice (repeated performance, custom) v practise (doctor's)

principle v principal

principle (source, rule) v principal (head of a college)

red v read

red (colour) v read (a book)

right v write

right (not left) v write (to write)

shouldn't've

an error intended as a contraction of 'should not have'

stationary v stationery

stationary (still) v stationery (paper)

status v statues

status (current position) v statues (sculpture)

there v their v they're

there (over there) v their (belonging to them) v they're (contraction of 'they are')

there'll

contraction of 'there will' - too informal for reports

there's

contraction of 'there is'

they'll

contraction of 'they will' - too informal for reports

threw v through

threw (a ball) v through (a gate)

to v too v two

to (to jump) v too (also, extremely) v two (2). Example: "This program is still too complex to read"

wait v weight

wait (hang around) v weight (kilos)

walkthru'

contraction of 'walkthrough' but too colloquial

weak v week

weak (not strong) v week (7 days)

were v where

were (in the past) v where (a place)

weather v whether

weather (the rain) v whether (if). Example: "The forecaster determined whether the weather would be wet today."

whole v hole

whole (complete) v hole (in the ground)

won v one

won (a game) v one (1)

won't

contraction of 'will not'

wood v would

wood (trees) v would (eg I would go)

you'd

contraction of 'you would' - too informal for reports

you'll

contraction of 'you will' - too informal for reports

your v you're

your (belonging to you) v you're (contraction for 'you are')