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0 Writers who generate verbal fog seldom hesitate to suggest to confused readers that the problem is theirs. I think this is the real reason—far more than ignorance of technique—that we see so much more bad than good writing.01span00 02span01span00It02span00 00provides a camouflage, a mask, a shield of technique behind which we hide, hoping no one sees through to the frightened little writer.02br00---------------02br02br00What does 'it' refer to? Verbal fog or bad writing?0-

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

0 bad writing02br
00but this is a badly written piece in itself. 0-

Avangi · Answer

0I think the "verbal fog" provides the camouflage for the bad writing, and allows an author to survive without perfecting his technique. Hence we see more bad than good, if we're clever enough to see through the camouflage. 02br
02br
00But I agree with Marius about the piece. It makes no sense. If a writer has no problems with his technique, why would he resort to "verbal fog"? Which is the cause and which the effect?0-

CalifJim · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Taka12cite10What does 'it' refer to? Verbal fog or bad writing?12blockquote

10 Verbal fog.02br
00CJ 0-

Miriam · Answer

0 Definitely "verbal fog".02br
00It's not very easy to see, though, because, as has been pointed out, the passage is badly written. If it hadn't been, it'd be easier to find the referent of "it" instead of having to go back to the beginning of the text or wondering which of the several singular nouns in the text the pronoun is replacing. 02br
00Miriam0-

Marius Hancu · Answer

0I agree with the others that 01b00it02b00 could mean "verbal fog." A different paragraph scheme would help in pointing that out:02br
02br
00---------02br
01i00Writers who generate verbal fog seldom hesitate to suggest to confused readers that the problem is theirs. I think this is the real reason—far more than ignorance of technique—that we see so much more bad than good writing.01span00 02span01u01span02span02u02i02br
01i01u01span00It02span02u00 00provides a camouflage, a mask, a shield of technique behind which we hide, hoping no one sees through to the frightened little writer.02i0-

Taka · Answer

0 Yes, like most people, I thought it was 'verbal fog'. 02br
02br
00However, the passage has this in front.02br
02br
00----------02br
02br
01span01u01span00Bad writing02span02u00—which is to say, 01span00opaque writing02span00—01span00provides a safe haven02span00. If the readers can't decipher your message, they'll usually blame themselves, thinking they are too simple to grasp such profundity. Writers who...02span02br
02br
02br
01span00----------02span02br
02br
00As you can see above, there is a correspondence between 'bad writing/opaque writing provides a safe haven' and 'it provides a camouflage...behind which we hide'.02br
02br
00I'm the one who blames himself, you know...0-

Avangi · Answer

1blockquote

01cite10Taka12cite10I'm the one who blames himself, you know...12blockquote

10Not to worry. But did you mean to say that ignorance of technique is not responsible for bad writing? That is, Author X really knows his stuff. All he lacks is confidence. So instead of producing the good stuff of which he is capable, he produces verbal fog. ? ?02br
02br
00Edit. P.S. Hasn't this exercise cured you of blaming yourself?0-

Taka · Answer

0 That's also what I'm wondering about. I don't really know if it's:02br
02br
00(a) The author doesn't have enough confidence in himself. So he uses his technique (i.e. a shield of technique) to hide himself. Verbal fog, or (intentional) bad writing, is useful for that.02br
02br
00or02br
02br
00(b) The author doesn't have enough writing skills and therefore doesn't have enough confidence either. So he is afraid of uncovering his actual technique and does his best to 'shield' it (i.e. a shield of technique), trying to hide himself. Verbal fog, or (intentional) bad writing, is useful for that.02br
02br
01blockquote

01cite10Avangi12cite10Edit. P.S. Hasn't this exercise cured you of blaming yourself?12br
12blockquote

10Does your 'this exercise' mean the discussions here in EnglishForward.com? If so, yes, no doubt.05002br
010id1

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