The sad state of writing - or, I'm going to loose my mind

Since I started going back to college three years ago, I have been baffled by the decline in basic writing skills, even on the college level. Therefore, I'm starting a series of posts which will point out the most common writing mistakes I encounter, as well as a (hopefully easy) way to not make the mistake in the future.

First up: the apparently difficult distinction between the word "loose" and the word "lose." This is one of the more baffling mistakes because it can be so easily avoided. While I've seen something like "I always seem to loose my car keys" written, I have yet to hear someone verbally use the wrong word. I guess the key is to learn or remember that loose rhymes with noose. "The loose noose still caused him to lose his life."