Writing Lab Comparisons Illogical Ambiguous and Incomplete Illogical

Writing Lab Comparisons: Illogical, Ambiguous, and Incomplete

Illogical comparisons • Illogical comparisons occur when two unlike things are compared. • Example: My cooking is as good as Mom. • In this sentence, we are comparing my cooking to my mom, and there is no basis for comparison. • Correct: My cooking is as good as Mom’s cooking.

Ambiguous comparisons • Ambiguous comparisons occur when the sentence does not make clear what two things are being compared. • Example: Dad likes my cooking better than Mom. • The sentence is unclear as to what is being compared. Are we saying that Dad likes my cooking better than Mom does, or are we saying that Dad likes my cooking better than he likes Mom? • Correct: Dad likes my cooking better than Mom does. • Also correct: Dad likes my cooking better than he likes Mom.

Incomplete comparisons • Incomplete comparisons simply have part of the comparison missing. • Example: I like chocolate more. • Correct: I like chocolate more than caramel. • Example: He is the smarter man. • Correct: He is the smarter man of the two friends.

That’s all, folks! • This lesson is part of the UWF Writing Lab Grammar Mini-Lesson Series • Lessons adapted from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon • To find out more, visit the Writing Lab’s website where you can take a self-scoring quiz corresponding to this lesson