NCO Primary Leadership Subjects
Rule 8: Use Personal Pronouns
Make your writing direct and informal by using personal pronouns (I, you, he, she,
Use a direct
we, they, us, them) as sentence subjects instead of vague nouns like "this office," "
writing style
all personnel," and " this headquarters." Use contractions like "I'm," "you're," "can't,"
and "won't."
Example:
INDIRECT WORDING:
This office requires all personnel to respond.
DIRECT WORDING:
Everyone must respond.
Make sure to keep your sentences consistent in person (i.e., the person talking, talked
Be consistent in
to, or talked about) and number (singular or plural).
person and
number
Examples:
If a writer practices, you can write well.
INCONSISTENT PERSON:
If you practice, you can write well.
CONSISTENT:
INCONSISTENT NUMBER: If people practice, he or she can write well.
CONSISTENT: If people practice, they can write well.
In the active voice, the subject names the doer. In the passive voice, the subject
Be consistent in
names the receiver of the action, or the receiver may not be mentioned at all. Shifts
subject and
in subject and voice can be confusing
voice
Examples:
INCONSISTENT:
In the morning, the squad members practiced map reading; in
the afternoon, their rifles were given a good workout. (The
subject shift from squad to rifles is unnecessary. The use of the
passive voice [were given] leaves us wondering who gave the
rifles a workout.)
CONSISTENT:
In the morning, the squad members practiced map reading; in
the afternoon, they gave their rifles a good workout. (The
squad remains the subject in both parts of the sentence and the
voice stays active throughout.)
Writing Mechanics and Composition
3-21
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