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When writing, clarity is essential. If writing is unclear, the reader may become confused or frustrated, which may lead them to stop reading altogether. Using ambiguous words, or words that have more than one meaning, without clarification can make writing unclear. Pronouns like “their” or “it” are commonly ambiguous, as the following illustrates: “The project managers report potential risks and suggest approaches according to their guidelines.” What does “their” refer to? The project managers’ guidelines? The guidelines of the approaches? A simple rewording can clarify: “…managers report potential risks and, according to their guidelines, suggest approaches….” 

Disconnected or oddly arranged wording also may cause a lack of clarity. In the following example, watch for the confusion over what took place and where: “The athlete said she and her team mutually agreed to part ways in an online video.” Does the video show the team agreeing to part ways or just the athlete announcing it happened? If the latter, then moving the “video posted” phrase would clarify: “In an online video, the athlete said….” 

Looking carefully for ambiguities and removing them can sharpen your writing — and sharp writing keeps readers reading. For questions, contact Dave Bounds at x2859 (virtual office hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 9-11 a.m.). Happy writing!

All writing has a voice, which is often referred to as “tone.” Word choice and order, sentence and paragraph length and even punctuation are all factors that contribute to someone’s tone.

A tone may be authoritative, conversational, scientific, diplomatic and so on. In these examples, note how all are saying essentially the same thing in varying tones:

• The following documentation presents a full explanation of the incident as requested.
• You’ll find everything that happened below.
• To understand the incident, read on. All details are accounted for.

There are several ways to write the same sentence and just as many ways to convey tone. Which of the above sounds like a professional statement? An informal comment? The answers reveal themselves in the details.

When put together, words like “documentation” and “explanation” give an official tone. Personalized wording like “you’ll find” "read on” convey a confident, possibly casual tone. Wording matters! How does your wording make up your tone? What wording could you change to better suit your intended tone?

Please contact Dave Bounds at x2859 (virtual office hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 9-11 a.m.) with any questions. Happy writing!