CONTENTS FEATURE: Haughty 'one' and 'indefinite you' seem stilted GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions NET NOTES: Captivating Web sites FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: Haughty 'one' and the 'indefinite you' can appear stilted      When preparing reports or proposals, business writers often are uncertain about which voice to use. Although they want the document to appeal to readers, they may be uneasy about using the second-person "you" because it may have been discouraged or even forbidden when they were students. But scholarly traditions aren't necessarily binding in business communication.      In academia, the voice of choice is typically third person—which encompasses anyone except the writer or the reader. Third person encompasses the pronouns "he," "she" and "they" as well as nouns (such as "employees," "residents" and "drivers") and proper names (such as "Australians").      Third person suffices when the subject involves people other than the writer or the reader. When writers need to describe actions that the reader must perform, however, third-person becomes inadequate. As a substitute for "you," they often resort to a numeral used as a pronoun: "one." The results often sound stilted or pompous.      Here's an example: "If one become aware that another employee is using equipment improperly, one is obligated to notify one's supervisor." That sentence, written entirely in third person, is needlessly rigid—and opaque. Who, after all, is "one"?      Permitting second-person usage results in a more intelligible sentence: "If you become aware that another employee is using equipment improperly, you are obligated to notify your supervisor."      Replacing "one" with "you" makes the statement sound more personal, and directly tells the reader what to do. It also eliminates gender conflicts that can unnecessarily complicate third-person constructions.      Second person may be regarded as inappropriate for formal writing because it is commonly used in personal correspondence: "How have you been, Fran?" At the same time, it also happens to be particularly well suited to instruction guides and training manuals because it speaks directly to the reader.      Consider, for example, "If one suffers even a minor injury on the job, he or she should file a report with the safety office." The sentence can be improved somewhat by replacing the pronoun "one" with a noun, as in: "An employee who suffers even a minor injury on the job should file a report with the safety office."      If this text is for a manual intended to be read by employees, shifting to second person would telegraph the policy more personally: "If you suffer even a minor injury on the job, you should file a report with the safety office."      Moreover, second person often can express an instruction more clearly than third person. Consider, for example, "the green wire should be connected to the grounding screw." That statement does not specify that the reader should connect the wire. Rather, it appears to say that the green wire already has been connected.      The meaning can be clarified by writing "you should then connect the green wire to the grounding screw." The sentence can be simplified even more by writing, "next, connect the green wire to the grounding screw." The unstated, but understood subject of that sentence remains "you."      Second person is more relaxed and conversational than third person. But keep in mind that the pronoun "you" isn't always the best choice when speaking to nobody in particular, as in "you always should wear sunscreen on Southern California beaches, even under overcast conditions." That use is known as the "indefinite you," because it may apply only to a portion of readers (not all may be planning to travel to Southern California).      The "indefinite you" often can be replaced by a specific third-person pronoun or noun—in this case, "tourists always should wear sunscreen when visiting Southern California beaches." The sentence can be improved by restructuring it with a different subject, as in "wearing sunscreen always is advisable on Southern California beaches."      So choose a voice that's well-suited to your audience. The decision about whether to prohibit or permit second-person sentences in a document depends upon its formality and purpose. While second person is considered inappropriate for a research paper or formal report, it can transform marketing and instructive materials from aloof to engaging. Our clients are growing on us. They include the California Farm Bureau Federation, the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, and the California Dairy Research Foundation. EditPros can help you write, edit and publish your materials as well. GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions Corinne Esser submitted this month's question:      "When do you use the term 'ensure' versus 'insure' to mean 'establish certainty'?" The grammar coach replies:      Some blurring of the distinction between the verbs "ensure," "insure" and "assure" has taken place, likely as a result of casual and habitual misuse. The terms do retain distinct meanings, albeit to different degrees, according to five reference sources we checked.      Among those references, the Cambridge Dictionary of American English maintains the most crisp, succinct distinction. It defines "assure" as "promise"; it says that "ensure" means "to make certain"; and says that "insure" means "protect."      The American Heritage Dictionary, in contrast, is most forgiving of failure to sharply distinguish between those verbs. In a usage notation, the dictionary states that "assure," "ensure," and "insure" all mean "to make secure or certain." It adds the qualification that only "assure" is used with reference to a person, in the sense of "to set the mind at rest" (as in, "Maria assured Bart that she would arrive on time"). Although the American Heritage Dictionary says that "ensure" and "insure" are generally interchangeable, it observes that only "insure" is widely used in American English in a business context in reference to monetary insurance against financial risk.      The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that "ensure," "insure" and "assure" are interchangeable in numerous contexts in which they are intended to indicate establishing certainty or inevitability of an outcome. The dictionary adds, however that "insure" sometimes stresses the taking of necessary measures beforehand, and "assure" distinctively implies the removal of doubt and suspense from a person's mind.      Under journalistic standards, codified in the Associated Press Stylebook, the distinction between the verbs "ensure" and "insure" is clear. The AP Stylebook unequivocally says to use "ensure" to mean "guarantee" (as in "he took steps to ensure accuracy"); and to use "insure" for references to insurance (as in "the policy insures his life").      The Oxford English Dictionary defines "assure" as "tell (someone) something positively to dispel doubts" or "make (something) certain to happen." It says "ensure" means "make certain that (something) will occur or be so". And it offers four definitions for "insure": 1. arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of (property, life, or a person), in exchange for regular payments to a company. 2. secure the payment of (a sum) in this way. 3. (insure against) or protect (someone) against (a possible eventuality). Only the fourth definition regards "insure" as "another term for 'ensure.'"      Our advice is to retain the distinction between the three verbs, as defined most unequivocally by the Cambridge Dictionary of American English. Bill assured (promised) Yvonne that he would finish cooking dinner before the board members arrive; he hired an assistant to ensure (to make certain) that he could fulfill that responsibility; and he purchased a policy to insure (protect) the company in case anyone becomes ill following dinner.      Thanks for submitting your question, Corinne.      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. NET NOTES: Captivating Internet resources Oxymorons.info — contradictory words      George Carlin and other comedians have poked playfully at seemingly self-contradictory phrases, including "jumbo shrimp," and many others have likewise accused "military intelligence" of being an oxymoron. Many examples exist in contemporary language, including "graduate student," "adult child," "gold silverware," "civil war," "industrial park," "objective opinion" and "boneless ribs." You'll find more at this site, organized alphabetically and by subject matter. Contribute your own, too, if you wish. Rate My Teachers.com      How well are your children's teachers doing in school? This site invites parents and students to rate the performance of teachers in their neighborhood schools. Web site visitors can search for specific schools to view rating results. If the school in which you're interested is not listed, you can add it. Language Map—Modern Language Association      Where in the United States is French Creole spoken? Where are the greatest concentrations of Greek, or Yiddish, or Tagalog or Armenian speakers? You can learn here. Select a language, and this site will display a map of the United States, showing county-by-county concentrations of speakers of the language you select. The site is maintained by the Modern Language Association, New York. 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