Appendix C: Communicating Meaning

• Semantics: The Reader’s and Writer’s Roles

• Observations, Inferences, Judgments

• Check to see whether a statement is an observation, inference, or judgment.

• Estimate the accuracy of inferences by comparing your experience with the source and with this type of situation.

• To persuade others, use quantifiable or concrete examples, not generalized statements.

• Label your inferences so audiences can distinguish between established fact and inference. “We estimate…”