Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Ambiguity
Check carefully for ambiguity. It is often hard to detect in your own text because you
know what is intended.
1
The compiler did not accept the program because it contained errors.
The program did not compile because it contained errors.
The next example is from a manual.
There is a new version of the operating system, so when using the “fetch” util-
ity, error messages can be ignored.
There is a new version of the operating system, so the “fetch” utility's error
messages can be ignored.
Part of the confusion comes from the redundant phrase “when using”: there would
be no error messages if the utility was not being used.
When using pronouns such as “it”, “this”, and “they”, ensure that the reader knows
what is being referred to.
The next stage was the test of the complete system, but it failed.
What failed, the test or the system?
In addition to skiplists we have tried trees. They are superior because they are
slow in some circumstances but have lower asymptotic cost.
In addition to skiplists we have tried trees. Skiplists are superior because,
although slow in some circumstances, they have lower asymptotic cost.
Another problem with “it” is that it is overused.
The machine crashed and it was necessary to reboot it.
The machine crashed and had to be rebooted.
1
A safe-sex guide issued by the Australian Government included “a table on which sexual practices
are safe”; it transpired that this was not a piece of furniture.
Government guidelines on planning for emergencies had a list of “events that emergency recov-
ery agencies have assisted”, including “destruction of homes … toxic chemical spillage … holding
of hostages”.
Newspaper headlines can be a rich source of ambiguity, such as the following well-known
examples:
Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Axe
Miners Refuse to Work After Death
While not exactly ambiguous, the report that
the pilot of a plane that crashed killing six people was flying “out of his depth”
does convey the wrong impression.
