Sometimes what separates good writing from poor writing is attention to detail. And sometimes that detail can communicate subtle but important differences.
The words that and which illustrate this concept very well. Many writers believe these two words may be used interchangeably. After all, they function in much the same way, right? Well, not quite.
Effective writers use that in phrases and clauses essential to meaning and which in phrases and clauses that are not. Often commas will signal the difference between what is essential to meaning and what is not, but that might not always be true.
Consider the example sentence in the graphic above. The phrase in question is which appears in the micrograph as thin, gray elongations and globules. Is this phrase essential to the meaning communicated in Fe3C? Not really. For this case, iron carbide always appears the same for the material and preparation conditions used to produce the micrograph. Thus, which appears in the micrograph as thin, gray elongations and globules is side information and not essential to meaning. Therefore, the writer used which correctly. The use of commas is also appropriate.
But suppose for a moment that the writer did not use commas to separate out the which phrase. The sentence would then appear like this:
The words that and which illustrate this concept very well. Many writers believe these two words may be used interchangeably. After all, they function in much the same way, right? Well, not quite.
Effective writers use that in phrases and clauses essential to meaning and which in phrases and clauses that are not. Often commas will signal the difference between what is essential to meaning and what is not, but that might not always be true.
Consider the example sentence in the graphic above. The phrase in question is which appears in the micrograph as thin, gray elongations and globules. Is this phrase essential to the meaning communicated in Fe3C? Not really. For this case, iron carbide always appears the same for the material and preparation conditions used to produce the micrograph. Thus, which appears in the micrograph as thin, gray elongations and globules is side information and not essential to meaning. Therefore, the writer used which correctly. The use of commas is also appropriate.
But suppose for a moment that the writer did not use commas to separate out the which phrase. The sentence would then appear like this:
Pearlite consists of Fe3C which appears in the micrograph as thin, gray elongations and globules in a matrix of ferrite.
Is this appropriate? Technically, no. Omitting the final comma creates a sentence that suggests pearlite is simply iron carbide. But it isn’t. Pearlite is iron carbide in an iron matrix. And if you have to have the final comma, then you also need one before which. So you do need the commas with the which phrase.
What about using that instead of which? Could the commas be omitted then? That sentence would look like this:
What about using that instead of which? Could the commas be omitted then? That sentence would look like this:
Pearlite consists of Fe3C that appears in the micrograph as thin, gray elongations and globules in a matrix of ferrite.
Again, you encounter the same problem because of the definition of pearlite. In addition, the information presented is not essential to the meaning of iron carbide, making the use of that inappropriate. The sentence as it appears in the graphic above is most appropriate.
Scientists and engineers can easily comprehend the need for precision in many of their endeavors. Writing is no different. Writers who bring precision to their writing efforts yield commensurate results. So be one of those writers! Learn what you need to learn to improve not only the effectiveness of your communications but also the professionalism of the image that those communications project.
Scientists and engineers can easily comprehend the need for precision in many of their endeavors. Writing is no different. Writers who bring precision to their writing efforts yield commensurate results. So be one of those writers! Learn what you need to learn to improve not only the effectiveness of your communications but also the professionalism of the image that those communications project.
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