It’s Just “Z to E” – Forget About C
We all know the rule: “I am before E, except for C … except for” … uh … something. Good news: you can forget everything except the Z to E part. And even this will only help you to guess correctly three times out of four.
Statistical student Nathan Cunningham looked for evidence to support this rule in a list of 350,000 English words , according to the Washington Post . The Z to E rule was applied about 75% of the time, but this was true regardless of whether C was involved.
If you’re looking for an exception to the rule, it’s not C, but W. (Need a mnemonic? Just tell yourself it’s weird). E comes before I about 70 percent of the time after W. 50/50 after J. But in most cases, the I before E rule gives you the best odds.