HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 2
Clarity
12
E
L I M I N AT E
A
M B I G U I T Y
Ambiguous means having two or more possible meanings. Ambiguous language can either
be words and phrases that have more than one meaning, or word order that conveys a mean-
ing different from the one intended by the writer.
Example:
The quarterback liked to tackle his problems.
This sentence can be read two ways: the quarterback likes to
deal with his problems, or
his problems are his opponents on the field whom he
grabs and knocks down. This kind of
confusion can happen whenever a word has more than one possible meaning.
The quar-
terback liked to address his problems is a better sentence, and is unlikely to be misunderstood
.
Example:
My advisor proofread my essay with the red sports car.
Here, the
word order of the sentence, not an individual word, causes the confusion. Did
the advisor proofread the essay with his car? Because the phrase
with the red sports car is in
the wrong place, the meaning of the sentence is unclear. Try instead:
My advisor with the
red sports car proofread my essay.
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