When you’re writing an essay, the words you use are important. They follow you throughout your career and could have damaging effects if you’re not careful. As an essay writer of the US university, you want to write as if your audience is diverse, filled with individuals from all walks of life. Doing that as an undergraduate seems complicated, but not that much if you follow a few of our suggestions. To write correctly and avoid offending anyone who comes across your paper, follow our examples below.
What Is Politically Correct Language?
As a student, you might be unfamiliar with the politically correct language. It is defined as language that is neutral and unbiased. The key is to remain wholly inoffensive and keep from bringing any one person or group of people down. For example, a few key areas to tread lightly are:
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Age
- Sexual orientation
Using politically correct language is necessary these days, especially with the far reaches of social media. Anything that you write or share can make its way around the world in a matter of seconds, taking you and your career down if you’re not careful.
It Helps to Know Your Audience
Before writing anything, you should know your audience. Not to say that it’s to offend others, but it could give you a better idea of certain things to avoid. If you’re addressing a large audience, you want to remain as neutral as possible. However, once you start mentioning particular groups, that’s when you need to focus and double-check that you’re using the most acceptable terms.
Let’s say that you’re writing about business ideas for college students. In this case, you can use students as a general identifier and avoid any gender or racial bias. Stay on topic with things like this and try to keep your thoughts and language as neutral as possible.
Common Politically Correct Errors to Avoid in Your Essays
1. Gender
In the English language, you’ll find a lot of words that, when speaking generally, take the masculine form. While the masculine form is accepted as a general term, it is not always politically correct. As we come closer to closing the gap between male and female to even the playing field, more scholars are attempting to use neutral language at all costs.
Because we usually do this in our writing, it can seem complicated at first, but you can make a few changes when writing and avoid any potentially offensive terms. For example, let’s look at words like ‘chairman,’ ‘fireman,’ ‘salesman.’ All of these are accepted in some cases, but when you’re speaking to a diverse audience, it’s better to make some changes. Use the neutral versions of these words, changing them to ‘chairperson,’ ‘firefighter,’ and ‘salesperson,’ respectively.
2. Race
Race is a sensitive subject these days. For this reason, a specific group of people could be the focus of your essay. But how do you write without offending or degrading an entire group of people? First of all, you need to do some research. Many socially accepted terms are out there and listed to help people clarify and become more aware. Secondly, you could ask people what their preference is to hear it from their perspective.
A common mistake that is made when writing is excluding groups with the prefix -non. For example, if we write: “non-whites,” who are we referring to? People could take offense for the exclusion you’re conveying. Instead of this, it is better to address the groups you’re referring to with the politically correct term. This could be African Americans, Asian Americans, or Mexican Americans.
3. Physical Disability
When someone has a disability, they struggle in dealing with it, often feeling lonely and isolated in their battle. The issue arises from the fact that they struggle to be identified as persons and not by their disability. The red flag words to avoid here are “disabled people.” Saying it in this way is taking away from the individual and shining more light on their disability. To make their description more acceptable and avoid offending those who suffer from an illness or disability, you’d better address them as “people with disabilities.”
4. Dubious Slang
Many times, we hear slang tossed around, and no one seems to get offended. While that may be the case amongst a group of friends or in a specific area of the world, it’s not always politically correct. It happens a lot when you start to study, as you’ll begin to realize that people refer to others differently and have different things that offend them.
If you commonly hear words or phrases tossed around online, in songs, or on TV, it’s best to first check a credible source before adding it to your essay. Slang isn’t always the most politically correct, and you could wind up hurting someone’s feelings.
Is It Ever Ok to Use Sensitive Language?
Your right as a student to use sensitive language depends on the course you’re enrolled in, and the curriculum handed out by your instructors. In most cases, it is best to avoid it unless you need to:
- Show emphasis
- Provide a direct quote
- Make a strong point
- Cite a source with sensitive language
The key here is that you don’t want to fill your paper with sensitive language. Keep it to a minimum and only use it when necessary. If you need to show emphasis, do so in other ways. If you’re quoting someone, make sure that it fits the narrative and doesn’t get off-topic.
It’s best to keep in mind that these days, access to the written word is easier than ever. When writing essays that will fall into the hands of many, use caution and be as politically correct as you can be. You wouldn’t want a bad reputation to follow you into your professional career and ruin your chances of scoring your dream job, right? Be nice and learn to write neutrally on any subject – that’s a super-useful skill in the modern politically sensitive world. If you’re unsure about the correctness of your expressions and word choices, there’s always a way out. Search for the top-quality writing providers at Reddit and ask a writing pro to double-check your text. It may be a sure way to avoid any confusion or embarrassment.