Avoiding Ambiguity in Writing

Ambiguity is when something can be understood in many different ways. The key to avoiding ambiguity in your writing is to plan your writing. Planning your writing can be done on 3 levels:

Whole response level

You need to plan what you will write so that your response has a structure that can be followed easily.
- It is good to have each point from your plan in its own paragraph.
- An easy to follow structure will help you to develop your points one at a time.
- An easy to follow structure helps the reader track your discussion and consider each point one at a time.

Sentence level

Avoiding ambiguity in a sentence involves making sure the sentence doesn't get too complicated.
You can use punctuation to break up complicated sentences to make sentences easier to understand.

Complex sentences

A complex sentence contains a main clause as well as a subordinate clause.
- You may be able to use multiple subordinate clauses in a sentence if you are a strong writer.
- But if you are not so confident, it is wise to only use 1 or 2 subordinate clauses at most.
It is better to use shorter sentences to avoid ambiguity.

Word level

The right word choice is very important to avoid ambiguity in your writing. Some things you need to think about are:
- Using appropriate adjectives and adverbs to add detail.
- Keep a dictionary and a thesaurus handy to expand your vocabulary.
- Experiment with vocabulary and pay attention to the feedback if you happen to use it incorrectly.

1Spelling

1.1Spelling

1.1.1Hard 'U' & 'I' Sounds

1.1.2Words Ending in '-sure', & '-mure'

1.1.3Words Ending in '-sion'

1.1.4'Ei', 'Eigh' & 'Ey' Spellings

1.1.5Spelling Words with 'Ch'

1.1.6Spelling Words with 'Sc'

1.1.7Silent Letters

1.1.8i Before e Rule

1.1.9Hard & Soft 'c' Sounds

1.1.10End of Topic Test - Spelling

1.2Prefixes

1.2.1'Anti-' & 'Auto-'

1.2.2Not & 'Inter-'

1.2.3'Mis-', 'Dis-' & 'Re-'

1.2.4'Sub-' & 'Super-'

1.3Suffixes

1.3.1Vowel Suffixes

1.3.2Short Vowel Suffixes

1.3.3Suffixes: '-ous'

1.3.4Rules for Suffixes: '-ous'

1.3.5Rules for Suffixes: '-ous' 2

1.3.6Suffixes: '-ly'

1.3.7Suffixes: '-ation'

1.3.8Suffixes: '-ation' 2

1.3.9Spelling: '-tion' Endings

1.3.10Spelling: '-sion' Endings

1.3.11Spelling: '-ssion' Endings

1.3.12Spelling: '-cian' Endings

1.3.13End of Topic Test - Prefixes & Suffixes

1.4Making Words Plural

1.4.1Plurals

1.5Homophones

1.6Word Meanings

1.6.1Homonyms

2Punctuation

3Grammar

3.1Word Classes

3.1.1Nouns

3.1.2Pronouns

3.1.3Verbs

3.1.4Adjectives & Adverbs

3.1.5Qualifiers & Quantifiers

3.1.6Determiners

3.1.7Prepositions

3.1.8Synonyms & Antonyms

3.1.9End of Topic Test - Word Classes

3.2Conjunctions

3.2.1Coordinating Conjunctions

3.2.2Subordinating Conjunctions

3.3Writing Coherently

3.3.1Building Cohesion in Writing

3.3.2Avoiding Ambiguity in Writing

3.4Verbs

3.4.1Subject-verb Agreement

3.5Modal Verbs

3.5.1Modal Verbs

3.5.2Can & Could

3.5.3May & Might

3.5.4Should & Shall

3.5.5Will & Would

3.5.6Must & Have To

3.6Phrasal Verbs

3.6.1Phrasal Verbs

3.7Subjunctive Verbs

3.7.1Subjunctive Verbs

3.7.2End of Topic Test - Verbs

3.8Sentences

3.8.1Subject of a Sentence

3.8.2Object of a Sentence

3.8.3Main & Subordinate Clauses

3.8.4Simple Sentences & Compound Sentences

3.8.5Complex Sentences

3.8.6Relative Clauses

3.8.7Relative Clauses Without Relative Pronouns

3.8.8Participle Clauses

3.8.9Run-on Sentences

3.8.10Sentence Functions

3.8.11End of Topic Test - Sentences

3.9Tenses

3.9.1Present Tense

3.9.2Past Tense

3.9.3Past Tense Using Have

3.9.4Future Tense

3.9.5Present vs Past vs Future

3.9.6Continuity of Tenses

3.9.7End of Topic Test - Tenses

3.10Adverbials

3.10.1Adverbial

3.10.2Saying Where & When

3.10.3Saying How Often

3.10.4Saying How & Why

3.10.5Using Commas for Fronted Adverbials

3.11Language Techniques

3.11.1Figurative & Emotive Language

3.11.2Active & Passive Voice

3.11.3Idiomatic Expressions

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