Wikipedia:Vagueness
 |
This essay contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. Essays may represent widespread norms or minority viewpoints. Consider these views with discretion. Essays are not Wikipedia policies. |
 |
This page in a nutshell: Try to use clear and well-defined words in all articles. |
Contents |
[edit] Pronouns
Pronouns allow writers to refer back to a noun without repeating it. However, sometimes it is unclear which noun a pronoun refers to, resulting in confusion for the reader. Here are examples:
On Joseph Biden's article:
Wrong: Palin was picked as his running mate. (Whose?)
Better: Palin was picked as John McCain's running mate.
On the Salton Sea article:
Wrong: For decades they have contaminated the lake. (What?)
Much Better: Pesticides have contaminated the lake for decades.
This essay describes ways in which writing is often considered to be vague, and then discusses strategies to avoid such problems.
[edit] Chronological items
Phrases such as "in the past", "presently", "soon" and "once was" can reduce the clarity of an article, apart from their anchorage in the moment of editing, when the moment of reading is a moving phenomenon. Without citations, these phrases can even be used to make false claims and statements. Here are examples:
Vague: In a few years, New York City will begin installing parking meters that accept credit cards.
Better: In three years, New York City will begin installing parking meters that accept credit cards.
Vague: In the past, few people opposed slavery.
Better Before the 1800s, few people opposed slavery.
Vague: The Catholic Church was once the single supreme authority in Europe.
Better: During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the single supreme authority in Europe.
Sometimes a date is uncertain or disputed. In the case of a disputed historical date use an unitalicized, unspaced "c." (which stands for "circa") immediately prior to the date. For example, Gráinne O'Malley's birth date is believed to be around 1530, so it could be written as: Gráinne O' Malley was born c. 1530.
The use of vague time words is sometimes acceptable when talking about the future, but try to be as specific as possible. Remember that Wikipedia is not a crystal ball, so avoid speculative statements.
[edit] Numbers without things
When describing quantities of things or repetitions of events or trying to convey statistical information in prose, specify the unit. Imagine that someone who has no idea what the subject is and sees the sentence out of context: they should be able to work out what you are talking about without the context.
Imagine some hypothetical sports reporting:
- John Smith ran three for three but struck out seven.
He ran three whats? And the striking out—is that specific jargon or is that just metaphorical? And three for three—does that mean three out of three or is the second three a different variable entirely? This can be avoided entirely by specifying what you are talking about by using a noun: talk about balls, wickets, throws, catches, hits, serves, passes, goals, tries and so on.
This isn't a traditional form of vagueness and isn't even intended as vagueness—but to the uninitiated reader, it comes out as somewhere between vague and impenetrable. This can be avoided by specifying what the things are that you are counting.
[edit] Vague words and incorrect statements
When used by the merely clueless, vague words make an article confusing and cause them to lack possibly important information. In the hands of those with more sinister intents, they can be used to make articles that are readable enough to impart wrong or biased information, but confusing enough to prevent readers from questioning the reliability or factuality of the article. Vandals can also vandalize an article by replacing specific information with vague statements. Always use citations, especially when – for whatever reason – you must use somewhat vague words. Doing this helps Wikipedia become more reliable and accurate.
[edit] How to improve vague articles
When you come across an article that is very vague, begin by replacing vague statements with clearer facts. If you lack the time or the expertise to do so, use one of the tags below:
| Tag | Template that will be shown (and correct usage) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{cleanup-confusing}} |
|
||
| {{vague}} |
[vague]
|
||
| {{Specific time}} |
[Specific Time?]
|
||
| {{when}} |
[when?]
|
