What does “it” stand for?
Could you help us figure out what “it” stands for?
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. It provides a comouflage,a mask ,a shield of technique behind which we hide, hoping no one sees through to the frightened little writer.
Top answer
teacherJapan Could you help us figure out what “it” stands for? I'll try, but it won't be easy. I believe "it" is supposed to be "the fact that writers suggest to confused readers that the problem is theirs" even though that idea is never expressed as a noun in the preceding text.
- teacherJapan Could you help us figure out what “it” stands for?
- I'll try, but it won't be easy.
- I believe "it" is supposed to be "the fact that writers suggest to confused readers that the problem is theirs" even though that idea is never expressed as a noun in the preceding text.
- CJ Addendum: See the other posts on this thread.
- I think the "verbal fog" people have your answer.
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teacherJapanCould you help us figure out what “it” stands for?
I'll try, but it won't be easy.
0teacherJapanCould you help us figure out what “it” stands for?
"Verbal fog", believe it or not.
For some writers, the pitfall is adverbs. For others, it's adjectives. But the worst is pronouns because when you get them wrong, you lose the meaning. This one was too far from its antecedent, with several intervening candidates, as we have seen.
0teacherJapanCould you help us figure out what “it” stands for?
In my opinion, the "it" refers to "verbal fog", i.e. to the writing of incompetent writers who write about things they don't exactly understand or who are simply ignorant.
0
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