Replace pronouns such as this, them, there, it, as it, their, etc. with a clear reference to defined subjects. For example, if a writer states “This is false because….” the reader may ask “what does this refer to?” Avoid using at the beginning of a sentence. As in, “This causes concern.'' Reason: “`this'' can refer to the subject of the previous sentence, the entire previous sentence, the entire previous paragraph, the entire previous section, etc. More important, it can be interpreted in the concrete sense or in the meta-sense. For example, in: ``X does Y. This means ...'' the reader can assume ``this'' refers to Y or to the fact that X does it. Even when restricted (e.g., ``this computation...''), the phrase is weak and often ambiguous. Never use that to refer to a person. Remember: A pronoun refers to the last named noun.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAs your blog hostess, I suppose I should tell you something you would not find on LinkedIn or a curriculum vita, so I shall. I am an animal lover, a semi-professional photographer, a seamstress, and a career student who just happens to have the most amazing teenage granddaughters ever born! My other business is a writing service for children: www.atlantapawpals.com Archives
May 2014
|