A key part of doing well in a college English Composition class is knowing the standards to which all college writing is held. After all, high school just taught you the basics of academic writing. In college, you'll have to refine your skills and brush up on the protocol for correct writing not just in school but in the professional workplace. One important concept to be familiar with during college is gender-inclusive writing. Gender inclusivity will be an important part of your writing success in a college-level English Composition class and beyond.
What is gender-inclusive writing? This is writing that uses neutral language to avoid excluding one sex or another. Likely, you do not intend to exclude a particular sex when you fail to use gender-inclusive language in your writing. Gender-biased language is simply a habit that was once culturally acceptable, but is now considered outdated. Writers must adapt themselves to new habits of gender-neutral language to avoid excluding or offending others. Your college professors will expect you to avoid biased language in your writing.
Breaking yourself of bad habits can be hard if you are not even sure what those bad habits are. One common form of gender-biased language involves making assumptions about those who perform a specific type of work. For example, using the outdated term "stewardess" instead of flight attendant makes the incorrect assumption that working as a flight attendant is work specifically for females. Avoid titles that denote gender. For example, use server instead of waitress, police officer instead of policeman, etc.
Also avoid gender-biased pronouns. It is incorrect to make statements such as, "A good nurse is an advocate for her patients," as this implies that nurses cannot also be male. It is common today to fix this problem by using "their" in place of his or her, as in, "A good nurse is an advocate for their patients," but this is incorrect. Rather, use the phrases "his or her" or "he or she." You may have to try a bit harder to reword the sentence so that it is gender-inclusive but not awkward.
Using the male gender to express humanity at large, as in "mankind," used to be considered correct. The male pronoun, "he," also used to be an accepted pronoun to mean anyone. No longer is this the case. It is easy to get around this, however, by substituting "humanity" for mankind.
It is also important to use titles and last names fully and correctly. Using Ms. instead of Miss or Mrs. Is advised unless you know an individual's preference. Use hyphenated names correctly, if applicable.
Keeping gender-neutral language straight can be difficult, and slipping up from time to time does happen. If you need help to make sure that your writing is gender-inclusive, don't hesitate to visit the writing center at your college or ask your professor to evaluate your work.
It is important that you train yourself to use politically correct language in all of your writing, correspondence and college English courses. If you can develop these good English composition habits in college, you will be well-prepared for entering the professional world.
