You heard it. There are times that when you use such words like “as such” in a sentence without knowing what to do next but then you found yourself constantly writing following those words, then there’s a huge tendency that you won’t be able to write it effectively. Oftentimes, your readers can’t catch up with you and sooner or later, they will find your work boring and useless.

Sentences containing the phrase “as such” are frequent sites of unclear writing. For some reason, the structure created when employing the phrase is very prone to vague antecedents (i.e. the specific noun that a pronoun refers to).
That pronoun “such” (as used in “as such) is typically used in longer sentences, where it appears as part of a compound or complex structure. When employed, “such” always refers to a subject in the parts of the sentence before it. If you have several clauses appearing prior to using it, though, the whole thing can end up just a little strange-looking.

This is a common experience where some writers find it hard to identify and correct their own selves. However, you can avoid this kind of a writing habit. The only way to correct it is try to revise your sentence. Longer sentences are not useful in writing. It will only make your writing even worst and not all readers would like to read it.

By then, they won’t even continue to read it as it will only produce a blurred and uncertain message to the public. If you are one of those people who often write longer sentences, then from now on, you better stop doing it and try to revise your sentence into a much more effective and clearer one where your message is delivered properly.

Also, try to limit yourself from including “as such” phrases in your writing as this is one of the reasons why you will end up writing longer sentences and even longer passages with an unclear message.

Under the guidelines of clear writing, the antecedent should be easily identifiable once the pronoun is encountered. If a reader could interpret it in more than one way, then you’ve failed to put together a clearly-written text. Take this sentence as an example:

“During the last episode of Dexter, where FBI profiler Lundy was killed, Quinn got back with his reporter girlfriend who has been using him as a source and, as such, spent the rest of the show with a shit-eating grin on his face.”

In the above sentence, the pronoun “such” can refer to “being used as a source” or “Quinn getting back with his reported girlfriend.” It actually refers to the latter, but figuring that out can take more than just a cursory glance. In such situations, you can end up forcing the reader to pause and sort out your mess of words before being able to proceed with the rest of the material. Make sure to fix these instances, especially when your English proofreading software points them out.

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Category: Writing
Keywords: antecedents, pronouns, vague antecedents