Vagueness, Ambiguity, and Clarity in Writing

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Running Head: VAGUENESS, AMBIGUITY AND CLARITY IN WRITING Vagueness, Ambiguity, and Clarity in Writing CRT/205 – Critical Thinking November 14, 2012 Instructor: Gina Feist Vagueness, Ambiguity, and Clarity in Writing Clarity in writing is very important for both the reader and the writer. However, it is not as easy as one would think to accomplish. According to Moore & Parker (2012) obscure writing that has vagueness, ambiguity, excessive generality, and undefined terms can cause confusion for the reader (p. 71). Analyzing writing for obscurities like vagueness and ambiguity requires one to look for places in the writing that can be interpreted more than one way or areas that need more elaborating on to be understandable. For example, Example 3 from University of Phoenix Writing Samples says: Next Sunday a collection will be taken to help with the cost of the new altar. Anyone wanting to help to do something on the new altar can step forward and let the committee know. This is a good example of how a piece of writing can be both ambiguous and vague. For example, the statement says, “Next Sunday” as a way of identifying when the collection will be taken. However it does not tell a specific time or location for the collection to occur. The use of the word “collection” in that statement is also an example of both vagueness and ambiguity in the writing sample. Collection is not specific enough for the audience to know exactly what they are hoping to get. Are they asking for monetary donations or building supplies. This vagueness allows alternate interpretations of the term causing ambiguity as well. Another occurrence of ambiguity in the sample occurs with the use of the word phrase, "step forward"; however, it could mean to take one step forward or to volunteer. University of Phoenix Writing Sample 7 says: It is unfortunate to be convicted when
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