> Read up on inclusive language and make sure you aren't including outdated terms.
I suppose, sure. But as the document ages the definition of “inclusive” will change, and some of the adaptations such as singular “they” can make writing less clear.
I suppose, sure. But as the document ages the definition of “inclusive” will change, and some of the adaptations such as singular “they” can make writing less clear.
I use they as often as possible, but the writer needs to build their sentences with it in mind.
In technical writing you might say something like “The user will enter their password…”, where the pronoun “their” of course refers back to “the user”.
I've found that using "they" style does quite often make it harder to be clear, when you've got a sentence that's talking about both a person and some things.
Something like
"Then the operator must update all the rules. They must ensure that no bad things happen."
Does the "they" refer to the operator or the rules?
Of course you can always rephrase to make it clear again, but you're losing a certain amount of freedom of arrangement that you might have wanted to use for other purposes.