WRITING LESSON: CLEARLY, OBVIOUSLY, UNDOUBTEDLY

My English professor instincts kick in — my Spidey-Sense starts tingling — whenever I see these words. Too often they're used when something is unclear and doubtful, but the author simply doesn't know how to make the point convincingly. Clumsy writers want to make an argument but don't know how to bridge some conceptual gap. Instead of painstakingly working out the logic, they simply state their conclusion with an obviously (when it's not at all obvious).

There's nothing inherently wrong with the words, but be sure you use them honestly.