Welcome, diane.adam.
Yes, there is a very quick and easy method, but the walk-through is kind of long.
First, let's take a look at why they are notorious confuseables.
Pronunciation effect and
affect are often pronounced the same. They both have primary stress on the second-syllable,
e-FFECT
a-FFECT
and so the vowel in the first-syllable is often unstessed, pronounced as schwa ə (the vowel sound in th
e):
[ə]-FFECT
[ə]-FFECT
Semantics
The
verbs effect and
affect are semantically fuzzy because they're near synonyms.
Effect means create/cause, whereas
affect means to influence/cause. How do we get around that? Well, one way is context. Take a look at these sentences below, and instead of thinking "effect? affect?" think "cause/create?" or "infleunce?":
He
caused/created a commotion in class. <effected>
=> He didn't influence a commotion; she caused it.
She
caused a revolution with her essay on exam grading. <effected>
=> She didn't influence a revolution; she caused it.
I want to cause/create a change in the way things are done. <effect>
=> Not influence, but CHANGE.
How does your budget
influence your social life? <affect>
=> Your budget can't cause your social life.
The movie
influenced her greatly. <affected>
=> The movie didn't cause her greatly.
My mood can
influence my thinking. <affect>
=> It influences my thinking, not causes it.
My headache
influenced my ability to concentrate in the exam. <affected>
=> It didn't cause my ability...
Note, there are more examples for the verb
affect than there are for the verb
effect because the verb
effect isn't as common or popular.
Verbs & Nouns Effect and
affect have dual grammatical functions. They can function as a verbs and as nouns.
Verbs
effect (verb) to cause <not as commonly used as
affect (verb)>
affect (verb) to influence <commonly used>
Nouns
effect (noun) result <always used>
affect (noun) emotion <special usage> It's pronounced
A-ffect
When in doubt, use
affect as a verb and
effect as a noun. The noun
affect is a specialized term, used by psychologists and social scientists, but it pops up now and then on our side of the world,
Noun
Ex: She showed little
emotion when told she won the lottery. <affect>
As for the noun
effect, there are tricks to remembering where to use it. Nouns take nominal markers like these ones: a, an, the, prepositions, adjectives (e.g., 'little' in the example above):
an effect
the effect
a great effect
into effect
no effect
take effect ('take' is a verb; 'effect' is its nominal object)
an effective point (adjective)
Morever, you can replace the noun with the words "result" or "emotion" to see if you should
effect or
affect, respectively.
Try these. Replacement is a quick and easy method. Remember cause, infleunce; look for a, an, the, etc.' result, emotion.
EXERCISES
The applause showed how deeply the presentation had _____________ the audience.
His attitude was _________________ by his upbringing.
What ____________ do you think the news will have on her?
No matter what he does, it will have no _____________ on me.
No matter what he does, it will not __________________ me.
What do you think the _______ of the decision will be?
How did her son's departure _________________ Mrs. Sanago?
How was the team _______________ by the loss of their coach?
I was impressed by the _______________ of Churchill's words on Britain during that time.
Do you know what ____________ that medicine will have on you?
All the best.
Sources affect/effect Spelling: Accept/Except and Affect/Effect Effect vs. Affect | Grammar Rules Language Corner: Affect/Effect Lesson Tutor : How Does the Effect Affect You? Learn when to use each correctly. <THE ANSWERS are here>
When to use effect rather than affect 
Re: When to use effect rather than affect 
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