By the end of this unit you should:
Writing is clear when the reader understands exactly what the writer intended. This means that there is no confusion caused by vagueness or ambiguity in the message. Ambiguous messages are ones that could be interpreted in two different ways. Vague messages are ones in which there is insufficient information given. In this unit, we focus on including sufficient information and presenting information logically.
Each of the following statements is unclear. The statements contain expressions that are vague or ambiguous. Work in pairs to identify the part that needs clarification.
ambiguous Is the month February or January? State the month in words.
vague State the type of correspondence, e.g.letter, short message, email or fax.
ambiguous 1st floor means the ground floor for Americans (the same as in Japan) but the not for British and some Europeans may go different floors. If there is any chance of confusion, name a landmark or specify Japanese 1st floor, etc.
ambiguous People use this and next differently. For example, if today is Friday 1st October, do we call Monday 4th October this Monday or next Monday. Providing a date as well as the day reduces misunderstandings.
vague The content of the eamil message should be stated. In fact, spam detectors may categorize this as junk mail and so the receiver may never see your message.
vague Does the reader know the problem? Are you sure you both are thinking about the same problem. State the problem precisely.
vague Who is Ms Saito and how do I contact her? If referring a reader to someboday else, give the position or relationship to that person and the method of contact, e.g. my co-investigator Ms Saito via email at saito0aizu.ac.jp.
vague The customer may not know which parts are being replacing. This is especially important in business-to-business communication. The place that the parts are being sent to is also not mentioned. In this case, stating the name and number of the part and the delivery location, e.g. Niigata factory was resolve the problem.
vague Which date and what time will the person arrive. Either state a few possible dates and times and request the reader to select one, or ask the reader to state a date and time for you. This depends on your relative status. In general, the more important or powerful side decides the dates and times.
vague This is completely unclear. Who, what and what!
Revise the sentences below by removing the ambiguous and vague expressions. Add details as necessary.
Submit a PDF of your revised sentences to the learning management system ( ELMS ).
Read the email below and identify all instances of vagueness and ambiguity.
Dear Professor Blake
Thank you for the email that I opened this morning. I understand that you have a problem with the time. I am sorry that I did not provide a suitable time slot.
I will consider the appropriate time slots again and I will write back to you in the future. Thank you for considering my application.
I look forward to meeting you.
Best regards
Taro Sato (s12345678)
Your name is Taro Sato. You had emailed Professor Blake to arrange an appoinment. In your first email you suggested two possible times to meet. The last email you received stated that the professor was not available at either of the suggested times.
Rewrite the email in Activity 3 to Professor Blake.
Can you identify:
If you cannot, you should work on this.