Wikipedia:Vagueness
 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Try to use clear and well-defined words in all articles. |
This essay describes ways in which writing is often considered to be vague, and then discusses strategies to avoid such problems and fix affected articles.
Pronouns
[edit]Pronouns allow writers to refer back to a noun without repeating it. However, this can confuse the readers if it is not clear what the pronoun is standing in for.
In John McCain's article:
Wrong: Palin was picked as his running mate. (Whose?)
Better: John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.
In the Salton Sea article:
Wrong: For decades they have contaminated the lake. (What?)
Better: Katherine uncovered that the oil refinery was contaminating the nearby lake with waste, possibly for decades.
Chronological items
[edit]Phrases such as "in the past", "presently", "soon" and "once was" can reduce the clarity of an article, apart from their anchorage in the moment of editing, when the moment of reading is a moving phenomenon. Without citations, these phrases can even be used to make false claims and statements. Here are examples:
Vague: In a few years, New York City will begin installing parking meters that accept credit cards.
Better: In three years, New York City will begin installing parking meters that accept credit cards.
Vague: In the past, few people opposed slavery.
Better Before the 1800s, few people opposed slavery.
Vague: The Catholic Church was once the single supreme authority in Europe.
Better: During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the single supreme authority in Europe.
Sometimes a date is uncertain or disputed. In the case of a disputed historical date use an unitalicized, unspaced "c." (which stands for "circa") immediately prior to the date. For example, Gráinne O'Malley's birth date is believed to be around 1530, so it could be written as: Gráinne O' Malley was born c. 1530.
The use of vague time words is sometimes acceptable when talking about the future, but try to be as specific as possible. Remember that Wikipedia is not a crystal ball, so avoid speculative statements.
Numbers without things
[edit]When describing quantities of things, repetitions of events, or trying to convey statistical information in prose, specify the unit. Imagine that someone who has no idea what the subject is sees the sentence out of context: they should be able to work out what you are talking about without the context.
Imagine some hypothetical sports reporting:
- John Smith ran three for three but struck out seven.
He ran three whats? And the striking out—is that specific jargon or is that just metaphorical? And three for three—does that mean three out of three or is the second three a different variable entirely? And does "struck out" mean he struck out seven times or that he struck out seven players on the other team? This can be avoided entirely by specifying what you are talking about by using a noun: talk about balls, wickets, throws, catches, hits, serves, passes, goals, tries and so on.
This isn't a traditional form of vagueness and isn't even intended as vagueness—but to the uninitiated reader, it comes out as somewhere between vague and impenetrable. This can be avoided by specifying what the things are that you are counting.
"A word without a meaning" and also "a sentence without its story"; so is to conclude with numbers without its objects.
Vague words and incorrect statements
[edit]
When used sincerely, vague words make an article confusing and possibly make readers misinterpret or even miss important information altogether. In the hands of those with more sinister intents, vague words can currently be used to make articles that are readable enough to impart wrong or biased information but confusing enough to prevent readers from questioning the reliability or factuality of the article. Vandals can also vandalize an article by replacing specific information with vague statements. Always use citations, especially when – for whatever reason – you must use somewhat vague words. Doing this helps Wikipedia become more reliable and accurate.
How to improve vague articles
[edit]When you come across an article that is very vague, begin by replacing vague statements with clearer facts. If you lack the time or the expertise to do so, use one of the tags below and go on reading.
| Tag | Template that will be shown (and correct usage) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| {{cleanup-confusing}} |
| ||
| {{vague}} |
[vague]
| ||
| {{Specify}} |
[specify]
| ||
| {{when}} |
[when?]
|
