Which sentence has unclear pronoun reference?

• A. The committee approved its proposal after reviewing the evidence.
• B. The committee approved the proposal after reviewing the evidence.
• C. The committee approved its proposal after it reviewed the evidence.
• D. The committee approved it after reviewing the evidence.

Answer: (C)

Pronoun reference must be clear: every pronoun should have a definite antecedent so readers know exactly who or what is performing or receiving the action. In the sentence with its proposal after it reviewed the evidence, the pronoun it is ambiguous. The word its already ties the proposal to the committee, but the later pronoun it could refer to either the committee or the proposal. If it refers to the committee, the sentence would mean the committee reviewed the evidence and then approved its proposal; if it refers to the proposal, it would strangely read as the proposal reviewing the evidence, which is illogical. This ambiguity makes the sentence hard to interpret.

The other sentences avoid that problem. When the sentence uses after reviewing the evidence, it’s clear the committee is the one doing the reviewing, so there’s no confusion about who performed the action. When the sentence uses a specific noun for what’s being approved, the antecedent is explicit and the meaning is straightforward. The best choice is the one that keeps the subjects and actions unambiguous, ensuring any reader can follow who did what.