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Here’s a list of common vague phrases, along with suggestions for making them more clear and specific: “We will do it soon.”. More Clear: “We will complete the task by next Friday.”. “That’s not a big deal.”. More Clear: “The issue is minor and can be resolved quickly.”. “She is sort of experienced.”.
- Vague Words and Phrases
- Vagueness Versus Specificity
- Varieties of Vagueness
- Vagueness in Oratory
- Vagueness in Survey Questions
- Ambiguity Versus Vagueness
- Vagueness in Sentences and Words
"Vaguenessarises from the use of terms that are inherently vague. The cabinet minister who says, My officials are monitoring this situation very closely, and I can promise that we shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the situation is resolved in a way that is fair to all the parties involved. should be challenged on grounds of vaguene...
"Vague or abstract words can create wrong or confusing meaningsin your receiver's mind. They state a general idea but leave the precise meaning to the receiver's interpretation...The following examples show vague or abstract words and ways to make them specific and precise: 1. many - 1,000 or500 to 1,000 2. early- 5 a.m. 3. hot- 100 degrees Fahrenh...
"One characteristic of vagueness...is that it is related to the degree of formality, or rather informality, of the situation; the less formal the situation the more vagueness there will be..."
"[T]he need in oratory of the specific example, either in place of or immediately following the general statement, cannot be too strongly urged. Generalizations alone have no persuasive value. And yet this truth is constantly overlooked by public speakers. How often do we hear the common criticism of the typically weak, impressionless address: 'Pla...
"Vague words are very common on surveys. A word is vague when it is not obvious to a respondent what referents (e.g., instances, cases, examples) fall under the umbrella of the word's intended meaning...For example, consider the question, 'How many members of your household work?' This question has several vague words, most of which would be missed...
"The difference between ambiguity and vagueness is a matter of whether two or more meanings associated with a given phonological form are distinct (ambiguous), or united as non-distinguished subcases of a single, more general meaning (vague). A standard example of ambiguity is bank 'financial institution' vs. bank 'land at river's edge,' where the ...
"The primary application of 'vague' is to sentences, not to words. But the vaguenessof a sentence does not imply that vagueness of every constituent word. One vague word is enough. It may be essentially doubtful whether this is a red shape because it is essentially doubtful whether this is red, although beyond doubt that it is a shape. The vaguenes...
- Richard Nordquist
Vague Language (aka Ambiguous Language) is. a defining characteristic of weak writing and writer-based prose style. Examples of vague language are. generalization, overgeneralizations—a sweeping statement about a group of people, things, topic. an excessive number of non-specific adjectives like good, bad, okay, pretty, happy, and sad, which ...
The problem is that according to MRT, the semantics of vague words, together with all the facts about how they are used, do not in general allow for a single range of application to be determined for sentences/utterances containing them, even relative to a context that can be made as specific as we like.
- Identify the purpose of your writing. Before you start a new text, take a moment to think about what you want to achieve with your writing. What message do you want to convey?
- Use concrete and specific words. Instead of using vague pronouns or words, choose concrete and specific terms that clearly convey your message. For example, you could use a product, item, or object instead of a thing.
- Define your terms. If you’re using technical or specialized terms, it’s essential to define them for your readers. You know what breakpoints with media queries are, but your readers may not.
- Try to describe. When possible, use descriptive words to help your readers visualize your message. Here’s a vague sentence. The view was beautiful. With more description, you can quickly improve it.
Mar 20, 2011 · What Vague Writing Looks Like. Take a look at the following examples of vague writing: Maddock looked at the wall, which seemed to be smeared with spaghetti sauce. The bomb fell approximately ten or twelve feet away from me. Elle was about forty-five minutes late for her dentist appointment when a cop pulled her over, apparently for speeding.
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Jun 1, 2018 · While scientific and much academic language prides itself on rigour, precision and clarity, vague language, or VL, as it is known, is a linguistic device used in politics, reporting and everyday ...
