Every Writer Should Watch Their Pronouns

Don’t: Resort to awkward or ungrammatical language to express gender neutrality

In the past, English speakers used the pronouns “he,” “him,” and “his” to refer to a single person of unknown gender. Sentences such as “each student should bring his pencil to class” were widely considered acceptable, inoffensive, and (contrary to popular belief) gender neutral. However, that is no longer the case. Gender neutrality has become a major issue in modern writing, and ignoring it only risks unnecessarily offending potential readers.

Authors have invented a variety of ingenious ways to address the issue, but most result in unnatural, confusing language that detracts from the message of the piece. Avoid awkward constructions like “one should bring one’s pencil to class,” “a student should bring a pencil to class if s/he wants to learn,” or “he or she should bring his or her pencil to class.” Using the pronouns “they,” “them,” and “their” with a singular sense (as in “each student should bring their pencil to class”) has gained the most momentum and is now widely used in spoken English. However, it has not yet received widespread acceptance in formal writing.1

Do: Reword to create gender neutrality naturally

The Chicago Manual of Style suggests nine ways to reword sentences for gender neutrality while maintaining natural, comprehensible English:2

  • In some sentences, simply leaving out the pronoun does not change the meaning. “A student is likely to learn more with a pencil than he would with a pen” could become “a student is likely to learn more with a pencil than with a pen.”
  • If the pronoun occurs far enough away from its antecedent, the noun could be repeated. “Each student should bring a pencil to class because his grade depends on it” could become “each student should bring a pencil to class because the student’s grade depends on it.”
  • Making the antecedent plural allows for grammatical use of a plural pronoun. “Each student should bring his pencil to class” could become “all students should bring their pencils to class.”
  • An article can often replace a possessive pronoun. “Each student should bring his pencil to class” could become “each student should bring a pencil to class.”
  • The singular pronoun “one” usually sounds pedantic but does fit well in some contexts. “A student is likely to learn more with a pencil than he would with a pen” could become “a student with a pencil is likely to learn more than one with a pen.”
  • If-then conditional sentences can sometime be reworded using the relative pronoun “who.” “If a student brings a pen to class, he will not pay attention to the teacher” could become “a student who brings a pen to class will not pay attention to the teacher.”
  • Changing a statement to a command eliminates the need for third-person pronouns. “Each student should bring a pencil when he comes to class,” could become “bring a pencil when you come to class.”
  • As a last resort, using “he or she” is preferable to using only “he,” but this method should be used sparingly. “Each student should bring his pencil to class” could become “each student should bring his or her pencil to class.”
  • Some sentences need a complete rewrite to sound natural. The extra time and effort this requires will go a long way toward strengthening your writing and keeping your readers focused on your message instead of your wording.

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  1. Chicago Manual of Style Online, 17th ed., s.v. “5.256: Gender-neutral singular pronouns,” accessed August 12, 2020, https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch05/psec256.html.
  2. Chicago Manual of Style Online, 17th ed., s.v. “5.255: Techniques for achieving gender neutrality,” accessed August 12, 2020, https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch05/psec255.html.