Do I need council or counsel?  The answer, for the most part, lies in the number of people that are needed.

Council refers to a group of people:

Ex:       The council met on Friday to revaluate the program.

            The Council on Foreign Affairs decided to allot significant resources to maintain relations with Angola.

Counsel implies only one person and refers to advice, an advisor, or most commonly, the act of advising:

Ex:       His counsel was invaluable.

The judge demanded that the counsel to approach the bench.

She counseled me on how to do my taxes.  

Both councilor and counselor refer to one person as well.

A councilor is a member of a council:

Ex:       The councilor refused to change his vote, leaving the council in a deadlock.

**Note: Councilor is also spelled as councillor.**

A counselor is an advisor:

Ex:       My academic counselor advised me to re-evaluate my schedule.

Although less common than the others, consul is the title of an official who serves to protect a country’s economic interests and the welfare of its citizens in a foreign country:

Ex:       Mark served in Russia as the American Consul for six years.

Other forms include consulate which is where a consul works or resides, and consular, which is an adjective that describes anything to do with a consul.

References

council. (n.d.). WordNet® 3.0. Retrieved June 06, 2007, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/council

councilor. (n.d.). WordNet® 3.0. Retrieved June 06, 2007, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/councilor

counsel. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved June 07, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/counsel

counselor. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved June 07, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/counselor

The University of Houston-Victoria will be closed from December 24, 2007, to January 1, 2008. 

Our next edition of Grammatically Correct will be sent on January 2, 2008.

Definitions

Council (n):

1.  body serving in an administrative capacity. 

2.  religious assembly convened to regulate matters of discipline or doctrine.

3.  meeting of people for consultation. 

Consul (n):

a diplomat appointed by a government to protect its commercial interests and help its citizens in a foreign country

-Adapted from WordNet.com

Counsel (n):

1. advice

2. legal adviser

3. (v) to advise

Counselor (n):

1. a person who provides advice.

2. a faculty member who advises students.

3. an assistant at a children's camp.

-Adapted from Dictionary.com

The Legal Writing Clinic of the University of Denver has a website that offers writing tips and samples. Although the advice is geared towards law students, it’s good counsel for any writer. http://www.law.du.edu/LAWPROC/clinic.htm

Test your knowledge by choosing the appropriate word in each sentence.

1. The Student (Council, Counsel) meeting will begin promptly at 12:30p.m.
2. Good (council, counsel) is hard to find and harder to receive.
3. I want to work at a camp as a (councilor, counselor) this summer.
4. Seven new (councilors, counselors) were appointed to Alamo Area Council.

Answers

1. The Student Council meeting will begin promptly at 12:30p.m.
2. Good counsel is hard to find and harder to receive.
3. I want to work at a camp as a counselor this summer.
4. Seven new councilors were appointed to Alamo Area Council.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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