Age

Mention age if it is relevant, but be aware that age-related terms (matronly, well-preserved, and so on) can carry derogatory connotations. Describing Mr. Fry as elderly but still active may sound polite to you, but chances are Mr. Fry would prefer being called an active seventy-eight-year-old—or just a seventy-eight-year-old, which eliminates the unstated assumption of surprise that he is active at his age.

Class

Take special care to examine your words for assumptions about class. As a writer, you should not assume that all your readers share your background or values—that your classmates all own cars, for instance. And avoid using any words—redneck, blueblood, and the like—that might alienate members of an audience.

Geographical area

You should not assume that geography determines personality or lifestyle. New Englanders are not all thrifty and tight-lipped; people in “red states” may hold liberal views; midwesterners are not always polite. Be careful not to make simplistic assumptions.

Check also that you use geographical terms accurately.

AMERICA, AMERICAN Although many people use these words to refer to the United States alone, such usage will not necessarily be acceptable to people from Canada, Mexico, and Central or South America.

BRITISH, ENGLISH Use British to refer to the island of Great Britain, which includes England, Scotland, and Wales, or to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In general, do not use English for these broader senses.

ARAB This term refers only to people of Arabic-speaking descent. Note that Iran is not an Arab nation; its people speak Farsi, not Arabic. Note also that Arab is not synonymous with Muslim or Moslem (a believer in Islam). Most (but not all) Arabs are Muslim, but many Muslims (those in Pakistan, for example) are not Arab.

Physical ability or health

When writing about a person with a serious illness or physical disability, ask yourself whether mentioning the disability is relevant to your discussion and whether the words you use carry negative connotations. You might choose, for example, to say someone uses a wheelchair rather than to say he or she is confined to one. Similarly, you might note a subtle but meaningful difference in calling someone a person with AIDS rather than an AIDS victim. Mentioning the person first and the disability second, such as referring to a child with diabetes rather than a diabetic child or a diabetic, is always a good idea.

Religion

Assumptions about religious groups are very often inaccurate and unfair. For example, Roman Catholics hold a wide spectrum of views on abortion, Muslim women do not all wear veils, and many Baptists are not fundamentalists. In fact, many people do not believe in or practice a religion at all, so be careful of such assumptions. As in other cases, do not use religious labels without considering their relevance to your point.

Sexual orientation

If you wish to build common ground, do not assume that readers all share one sexual orientation. As with any label, reference to sexual orientation should be governed by context. Someone writing about Representative Barney Frank’s legislative record would probably have little if any reason to refer to his sexual orientation. On the other hand, someone writing about diversity in U.S. government might find it important to note that Frank was the first U.S. congressman to voluntarily make his homosexuality public.