1. To begin with, simply change from the singular to the plural from the very outset. Plural nouns and pronouns do not indicate gender, so sexism is impossible, and if you begin in the plural rather than switching to it in the middle of the sentence, you will be consistent. In the following sentences, do not simply fill in the blanks. Change the opening to the plural and then fill in the blanks.
Example: When a person insists on putting BLANK best foot forward, it often gets stepped on.
Revision: When people insist on putting their best foot forward, it often gets stepped on.
Your turn: Whenever a child suffers, our society has failed BLANK.
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2. Any time a student needs help with writing, BLANK can visit the Writing Center.
(Note that the purpose of using the word "BLANK" is simply to avoid presenting visual images of inconsistent or sexist language. In a sentence that begins like this one, no word exists that will fill in the blank without either sexism or number conflict. Therefore you must change the beginning.)
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3. Now let's experiment with the most elegant solution. English does in fact have two pronouns that can be singular without indicating either number or gender: WHO and THAT. If you can restructure a thought so as to use one of these pronouns, the problems of sexist language and agreement may not arise. This restructuring is usually possible if your sentence begins with a WHEN clause or an IF clause. Delete that first word and add a WHO or a THAT clause after the subject.
EXAMPLE: When a lover stops loving, BLANK rarely becomes indifferent.
==>A lover who stops loving rarely becomes indifferent.
(Put no comma between subject and predicate.)
When a person doesn't work or go to school, BLANK can tend to get bored.
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4. Whenever somebody plans a major purchase, BLANK should do some research.
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5. If a person reads many mysteries, BLANK will learn how to guess.
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6. If an individual develops hypoglycemia, BLANK may later develop diabetes.
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7. If an individual is diabetic, BLANK should not eat sugar.
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8. If a driver can't see the chart, BLANK shouldn't be on the road.
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9. Let's return now to the most common solution to the problem: the general, all-purpose editing trick of avoiding the singular from the start. The previous problem could be solved in that way too: Drivers who can't see the chart shouldn't be on the road. If drivers can't see the chart, they shouldn't be on the road. Solve this problem:
A successful manager will not think too highly of BLANK [i.e., the manager].
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10. Is a person educated just because BLANK attended more school than the average person?
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11. Before a diver leaves the diving board, BLANK should have decided exactly how BLANK intend to enter the water.
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12. Possibly you have already thought of another way of putting that last idea: Before leaving the diving board, a diver should have decided exactly how to enter the water. Yes, the "-ing "phrase is very handy when the sentence begins with "before or "after." Try one yourself. (Keep to the singular.)
Before a buyer signs a bill of sale, BLANK ought to read the fine print.
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13. After a parent makes a threat, BLANK can lose credibility by not following through.
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14. Now see what you can do with a hard problem, a sentence with two indefinite human references.
Whenever a criminal lawyer meets with a client, BLANK should avoid giving BLANK unreasonable hope.
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15. Pronouns are very useful, but reducing your reliance upon them can also reduce the risk of running into sexism or number conflict.
SEXISM: An artist works best with his palette comfortably smeared.
NUMBER SHIFT: An artist works best with their palette comfortably smeared
SOLUTION: An artist works best with a palette comfortably smeared.
Now you try one: Television can bring the Kentucky Derby into a homeowner's living room with a touch of BLANK finger.
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16. Any given individual, no matter how brilliant or rich or attractive BLANK may be, is going to have serious shortcomings.
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17. The judge told everyone to be on BLANK guard. [EVERYONE is a singular word, as ONE indicates; even though it refers to many persons, it treats them individually.]
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18. One member of a married couple can be expected to show BLANK age more rapidly than the other.
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19. In certain circumstances you can use ONE in place of A PERSON and then continue to use ONE every time that indefinite individual is mentioned. This device is pretty formal, and once begun, it cannot be varied; there is no escape to THEM or HE--only ONE.
In order to get what one wants, one must overcome many trials.
Use ONE to solve this problem: If a person doesn't work or go to school, BLANK tends to get bored and therefore wants to go out all the time.
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20. A person can be considered mature if BLANK is emotionally ready for independence. [Remember that we are not at this point interested in the pluralization solution or the use of "who" and "that."]
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21. The most common but least agreeable solution to sexist language is HE OR SHE. Like ONE, HE OR SHE is a trap; once you begin it, you can't get out of it but must continue with HIM OR HER and HIS OR HERS until you reach the end. Use HE OR SHE, then, only as a last resort. In the following sentence HE OR SHE (or variations thereof) may be the only alternative:
One member of a married couple can be expected to have a greater attachment to BLANK own parents than the other does.
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22. Please solve the following problems without converting them to the plural and without HE OR SHE.
Every person in the picture has a cheerful grin on BLANK face.
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23. While the narrator rejects religion, BLANK concedes that some people require it.
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24. If you remember that a crying baby is feeling bad, not being bad, you will treat BLANK appropriately.
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