Pronouns must "agree" (or match) the nouns they replace in several ways: person, number, gender, and case. To choose the correct case, you'll learn to identify nominative, objective, or possessive pronouns.

 

You'll learn to identify first-, second-, and third-person viewpoint, and maintain a consistent viewpoint in your writing. Careless changes lead to ambiguous documents. Specifically, unnecessary changes cause readers to ask, "Who is supposed to do what?"

 

A generation ago, writers generally used "he" to refer to either sexes. Today, such writing is considered sexist, particularly when writing policies, procedures, or job announcements that apply to both genders. You'll identify three ways to avoid sexist language that alienates readers. Instead, you can write clear documents that explicitly include both genders.