From the course: Writing with Flair: How to Become an Exceptional Writer

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Ambiguity

Ambiguity

From the course: Writing with Flair: How to Become an Exceptional Writer

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Ambiguity

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- Very close to the concept of out of focus ideas is the concept of ambiguity in your writing. Now ambiguity just means leaving readers unsure of what your meaning's actually, because what you're saying could have more than one meaning. It goes way beyond the problem of misplaced modifiers, because just one major ambiguity in your prose, of any kind, can throw the whole thing off. The reader may lose confidence and trust in your words, and there goes your authority if that happens. So you need to get really good at recognizing when ambiguity in all its forms is present in your writing. Take this sentence, which seems harmless at first: My older students know I'm extremely careful with my language. What's the ambiguity there? That's right, older can mean, you know, can have two types of meaning. You could be referring to people who've been your students for a long time and are older in that sense of the word, or you could be referring to students who are advanced of age and therefore…

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