Clear

Question

Is it possible to use 'clear', as in 'clear writing', as a synonym for 'consistent' or 'logical'?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

'Clear' focuses on 'easy to understand'.
I wouldn't say that is the focus of those other words.

Clive

Taka · Answer

So 'clear writing' is not necessarily 'logical writing' or 'writing which is consistent in its content'?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

'Consistent writing ' can be consistently bad.

'Logical writing' can can be very complex and abstruse.

Clive

Taka · Answer

Let's say, then, the context is about the consistency with the topic sentence; you need to stick to the main topic when you write a paragraph.

With that context, would 'clear' writing be the same as 'logical/consistent writing'?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Let's say, then, the context is about the consistency with the topic sentence; you need to stick to the main topic when you write a paragraph. With that context, would 'clear' writing be the same as 'logical/consistent writing'?-- No. You need to refer to 'the text as consistent with the topic'. And logic is another problem entirely. 'Alice in Wonderland' transpires within its own internal illogic.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

My writing can be clear, yet at the same time be completely unrelated to the topic that I was supposed to write about.

Clive

Taka · Answer

CliveHi,My writing can be clear, yet at the same time be completely unrelated to the topic that I was supposed to write about.Clive

OK. So it seems that the word 'clear' is a bit weak here.

Clive, about 'logical', would you agree with MM?

If I was a college student, for example, and my instructor said in the writing lab 'I think the paragraph you've written is very logical, Taka, It's very good', should I still not take it as a message that the paragraph was well-organized?

Or what about the combination of 'clear' and 'logical'? If I was told in the lab that the paragraph I had written was clear and logical (or logically clear), would you think there was still a possibility that the examples I used in the paragraph was not related to the topic sentence?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Again, I don't see 'logical' as meaning 'clear'. eg Some works on logic are extremely abstruse and impenetrable to o a layman.

And consider a passage that consists of descriptive or emotional writing. Such writing can be clear, but not what you would call 'logical'.

Having said all this, it's true that we are unlikely to say that writing is 'logical' unless it is 'clear' to us as readers.

'Logical' is usually a term of approval, although it's not hard to imagine a teacher saying eg 'Your writing is very logical, but your assignment was to write a story that moves one's emotions'..

It's also not unusual for a student to be told that their essay is well-written, even logical and well-organized, but is off-topic. Some university teachers delight in such remarks.

Clive

Taka · Answer

CliveHaving said all this, it's true that we are unlikely to say that writing is 'logical' unless it is 'clear' to us as readers. 'Logical' is usually a term of approval, although it's not hard to imagine a teacher saying eg 'Your writing is very logical, but your assignment was to write a story that moves one's emotions'.Clive

Good. So let me confirm. Unless I'm not supposed to write a moving story, and if I am just expected to write a good paragraph in which each example is relevant to the topic sentence, what I have to write can be called a 'logical' writing. Right?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

In broad terms. I would say that logical writing is clear writing, but that clear writing is not necessarily logical writing.
For example, good descriptive writing can easily be described as clear, but is not likely to be described as logical.

Clive.

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