Vague Pronoun Referent

The most common grammatical error is the use of "this" or "which" to refer to a whole thought or sentence that comes before it. Remember that "this," "it," and "which" are pronouns and thus must stand in for a single-word antecedent, just as "he" as a pronoun stands in for a particular noun.

Using it after a quotation:

Incorrect:

Woolf shows the cultural arrogance of Peter Walsh's thoughts about empire as he walks down the streets of London: "One of the triumphs of civilization, Peter Walsh thought [ . . . ] as the light high bell of the ambulance sounded" (151). This indicates that Peter is unaware of the ravages brought by so-called civilization on the peoples of India and on the citizens of England, like Septimus Warren Smith.

Notice that the vague pronoun referent "this" which follows the quotation is referring to the whole sentence preceding the ellipses. Even though a reader might be able to figure it out, the vagueness of that referent makes the writing itself lose is precision and clarity.

To fix it, the writer could modify "this."

Correct:

This complacent tone in denoting the ambulance as a triumph indicates that Peter is unaware of the ravages brought by so-called civilization on the peoples of India and on the citizens of England, like Septimus Warren Smith.

Notice that in having to specify the referent for this pronoun, the writer ends up writing a more precise analysis of the passage, naming the technique—tone—that is creating the sense of the character’s arrogance.