Please look over these sentences for me. Revise each of the following items to clarify pronoun reference.
1. All scholarship applicants must fill out a financial aid form, meet with the dean, and write a letter to the committee members. The deadline is October 24, so the applicants should start the process as soon as possible
2. Patients on medication may relate better to their therapists, be less vulnerable to what disturbs them, and be more responsive.
3. Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before speaking to me.
4. In Texas, people often hear about the influence of big oil corporations.
5. A small band of protestors picketed the new shopping center that outraged many residents.
All read fine. What do you need help with?
Here are the original sentences. My instructions were to revise each of the following items to clarify pronoun reference.
1. All scholarship applicants must fill out a financial aid form, meet with the dean, and write a letter to the committee members. The deadline is October 24, so they should start the process as soon as possible.
2. Patients on medication may relate better to their therapists, be less vulnerable to what disturbs them, and be more responsive to them.
3. Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before the spoke to me.
4. In Texas, you often hear about the influence of big oil corporations.
5. A small band of protestors picketed the new shopping center, which outraged many residents.
I'd change number 1 to:
Each scholarship applicant . . .
The deadline is October 24, so applicants should . . .
5.
It's not clear whether the protesters or the shopping center has outraged many residents.
Which is the correct answer:
4. In Texas, people often hear about the influence of big oil corporations.
or
4. In Texas, you often hear about the influence of big oil corporations.
if the question is:
Select the choice that best revises the original sentence to clarify pronoun reference or remove ambiguity. If the original is the best choice, click on “No change.”
1. All scholarship applicants must fill out a financial aid form, meet with the dean, and write a letter to the committee members. To clarify pronoun reference, revise the sentence as follows: "All scholarship applicants must fill out a financial aid form, meet with the dean, and write a letter to the committee members. To clarify, the applicants should start the process as soon as possible to meet the October 24 deadline."
2. Patients on medication may relate better to their therapists, be less vulnerable to what disturbs them, and be more responsive. The pronoun "them" can be ambiguous, so revise the sentence as follows: "Patients on medication may relate better to their therapists, experience less vulnerability to the things that disturb them, and respond more effectively."
3. Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before speaking to me. The pronoun "me" could be unclear, so provide clearer reference by revising the sentence as follows: "Ms. Dunbar wanted to speak to my mother before speaking to me directly."
4. In Texas, people often hear about the influence of big oil corporations. There are no pronoun issues in this sentence.
5. A small band of protestors picketed the new shopping center, which outraged many residents. The sentence is already clear with pronoun reference.