School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Adult Class: Certificate Topics — Year 1 (Foundations) · Home: Schools — Adult track Certificate behind this topic: "Tips for More Inclusive Language" — LinkedIn Learning, earned by Minister Destiny Marie Morgan (May 28, 2025) Founded and presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Minister
This lesson is educational information from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It teaches the public body of knowledge in this subject — the same ground Minister Destiny studied for her certificate — in this school's own words. It is not the original course, it does not award the original credential, and it is not legal or medical advice. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This school never asks your name. Your progress is saved to your student record, so you can pick up on any device. If you pass this unit's quiz (80% or higher, retakes allowed), you earn a downloadable certificate with a blank line — you write your own name on it after you save it. Quiz answers are not shown; if you miss a question, re-read the lesson and try again.
- Inclusive language is a respect skill and an accuracy skill at the same time. Words can quietly leave people out — or quietly make room for them — in a workplace note, a ministry announcement, or a family conversation.
- This topic stands behind Minister Destiny Marie Morgan's certificate in inclusive language. You will learn the same public ground she studied: how major style guides approach respectful terms, and how to check a trustworthy guide instead of guessing.
The lesson
Part 1. Why language choices matter
Every message sorts people, whether the writer meant it to or not. A flyer that says "all men are welcome" tells half the room the invitation was not really written for them. A form that offers only two boxes for who a person is tells everyone who fits neither box that they were not expected. A job notice that asks for a "young, energetic go-getter" tells an experienced fifty-year-old not to bother. None of these writers set out to exclude anyone. Exclusion usually happens by habit, not by hatred — and habits can be changed once you can see them.
Inclusive language matters for three practical reasons. First, respect: people experience being named correctly — or erased — as a sign of whether they belong. Second, accuracy: a term that lumps very different people together, or uses one group as the silent default for everyone, is often simply wrong, and wrong words produce wrong understanding. Third, trust: in work and in ministry, people decide quickly whether a speaker has thought about them at all. Careful language is visible evidence of careful thought.
This school teaches inclusive language as a craft, not a test of anyone's politics or goodness. Preferences differ, guides differ, and language keeps moving. The skill is not memorizing a perfect list — no perfect list exists. The skill is noticing, checking a reliable source, choosing deliberately, and correcting yourself cleanly when you get it wrong.
Part 2. Person-first and identity-first language
The best-known choice in this field is between person-first language and identity-first language. Person-first language puts the person before a characteristic: "a person with a disability," "a person with diabetes," "people experiencing homelessness." The idea is that no one is only one thing, and the wording keeps the person in front. Many style guides, including the American Psychological Association's bias-free language guidance, have long recommended person-first forms as a safe default, and they remain the safer choice when you do not know what someone prefers.
Identity-first language puts the characteristic first because the community treats it as part of identity, not a flaw to step around: "a Deaf person," "an autistic person," "a blind person." Many Deaf people and many autistic self-advocates prefer identity-first wording and experience person-first phrasing as suggesting the trait is something shameful that must be separated from the person. Neither preference is rude or wrong. They reflect different histories and different relationships to the same reality.
So what does a careful writer do? Follow this order. First, ask the person, when it is a real individual and asking is natural — and then use exactly what they told you. Second, follow the community's own published guidance when writing about a group; self-advocacy organizations state their preferences openly. Third, when you truly do not know, use the person-first default your style guide recommends, keep the wording neutral and specific, and stay willing to revise. The rule underneath all three steps is the same: call people what they call themselves.
Part 3. Gender-inclusive defaults
For generations, English writing used masculine words as if they covered everyone: "mankind," "manpower," "the chairman," and a generic "he" for any unknown person. Modern readers no longer hear those words as universal, so current style guides treat gender-inclusive wording as standard practice. The fixes are simple and quickly become automatic.
Replace gendered job titles with neutral ones: firefighter for fireman, police officer for policeman, server for waitress, flight attendant for stewardess, chair or chairperson for chairman, and spokesperson for spokesman. Replace assumed pronouns with workable alternatives. The singular "they" — "each student should bring their book" — is accepted by major guides including APA style, and it solves most cases cleanly. You can also rewrite: make the subject plural ("students should bring their books"), repeat the noun, or address the reader directly as "you."
Watch titles and forms, too. Use the title a person uses for themselves; when a courtesy title is needed and you do not know a preference, "Ms." is the standard neutral choice for a woman because, unlike "Miss" and "Mrs.," it says nothing about marriage — the same courtesy "Mr." has always offered men. In group greetings, "everyone," "colleagues," "friends," or "team" include the whole room in a way "ladies and gentlemen" and "you guys" do not. The point is never to police a friendly conversation; it is to make your defaults fit the people actually in front of you.
Part 4. Careful terms — disability, age, faith, and race
Disability. Use specific, neutral descriptions: "a person who uses a wheelchair," not "wheelchair-bound" or "confined to a wheelchair" — a wheelchair is a tool that gives mobility, not a prison. Retire words that began as medical labels and became insults. Avoid defining people by a diagnosis when the diagnosis is not relevant to the story at all; if it is not needed, leave it out.
Age. Describe age specifically when it matters — "adults aged 65 and older," "older adults" — rather than labels like "the elderly" or "senior citizens" used as a noun for a whole group, and never "senile." Specific ages are both kinder and more accurate: a healthy 68-year-old marathon runner and a frail 92-year-old are not one category.
Faith. Name religions precisely and capitalize them, as you would want your own named: Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh. Do not use a faith as a loose adjective for a look, a neighborhood, or a politics, and do not assume a person's practices from their affiliation — ask, or describe only what you know. In a school founded by a Muslim minister who teaches students of every faith and none, precision about faith is basic respect.
Race and ethnicity. Capitalize the names of racial and ethnic groups, be as specific as the facts allow — a specific nation, tribe, or community is better than a vague continental label — and never mention race when it has nothing to do with the subject. Avoid turning adjectives into nouns for whole peoples ("the poor," "the homeless," "the disabled" do the same flattening in other fields): people are people first in grammar as well as in fact.
Part 5. Dated terms to retire, and correcting yourself cleanly
Some words carry histories their speakers never learned. Terms that were once clinical, charitable, or casual can become slurs or stereotypes over time, and "I didn't mean it that way" does not remove the sting for the person who heard the history in it. The practical habit is simple: when a reliable guide or a member of the group tells you a term is dated, retire it without argument and use the current term. You do not need to agree about the history in the moment; you need a word that works now.
Everyone still slips. What separates careful speakers is the repair. The clean correction has three moves and takes about five seconds: briefly apologize, correct the word, and move on. "We welcomed the chairman — the chair, sorry — of the committee." Do not deliver a long speech about your mistake, which makes the other person comfort you; do not pretend it did not happen if it landed badly; and do not get defensive. If someone corrects you privately later, thank them. They gave you information most people would have withheld, and you will write better for the rest of your life because of it.
Part 6. Checking a style guide instead of guessing
Professionals do not carry all of this in their heads — they check. Keep a small stack of trusted references and know what each is for. APA Style's bias-free language pages (apastyle.apa.org) give researched guidance on age, disability, gender, race and ethnicity, and more. The Conscious Style Guide (consciousstyleguide.com) gathers community media guides and explains the reasoning behind competing terms, which helps when two preferences conflict. The UNC Writing Center (writingcenter.unc.edu) offers a plain handout on gender-inclusive language, and Purdue OWL (owl.purdue.edu) links style guidance for avoiding bias in writing.
When guides disagree — and they sometimes do — decide by the principles in this lesson: the person's own stated preference first, the community's own guidance second, your house guide third, and specificity and neutrality throughout. Write your choice down in a personal style sheet so your documents stay consistent.
Words to know — Inclusive Language
- Inclusive language — wording chosen so that people are named accurately and respectfully, without one group being treated as the silent default for everyone.
- Person-first language — phrasing that puts the person before a characteristic, as in "a person with a disability."
- Identity-first language — phrasing that puts a characteristic first because a community treats it as part of identity, as in "a Deaf person."
- Singular they — using "they/them" for one person whose gender is unknown or nonbinary; accepted by major style guides including APA.
- Gendered term — a word that assumes a gender, such as "fireman" or "mankind," where a neutral word exists.
- Style guide — a published set of language decisions by an authority such as APA, used to keep writing consistent and current.
- Self-identification — the name or label a person or community chooses for themselves; the first authority on what to call them.
- Dated term — a word once common that current guides and communities have retired because it now stereotypes or offends.
- Clean correction — briefly apologizing, substituting the right word, and continuing, without defensiveness or a long speech.
Myths vs facts — Inclusive Language
- Myth: Inclusive language means memorizing one perfect word list. Fact: Preferences differ between people and communities and change over time; the skill is asking, checking a guide, and correcting cleanly.
- Myth: Person-first language is always the respectful choice. Fact: Many Deaf and autistic people prefer identity-first language; the person's or community's own preference comes first.
- Myth: Singular "they" is bad grammar invented recently. Fact: Singular "they" has centuries of use in English and is accepted by APA and other major style guides.
- Myth: If you meant no harm, the word cannot harm. Fact: Impact does not depend on intent; a dated term can sting because of its history, and the fix is to retire it, not to debate the listener.
- Myth: Inclusive language is only about gender. Fact: It covers disability, age, faith, race and ethnicity, and any place where wording flattens people into a label.
Think it through — Inclusive Language
A neighborhood association is printing a welcome flyer. The draft says: "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Our spokesman will greet newcomers, and the elderly on the block will be glad to help. A wheelchair-bound resident founded our garden club, so everyone is included." The writer asks you to check it before printing.
Walk it through: (1) Gender defaults (Part 3): "ladies and gentlemen" and "spokesman" assume and divide the room; "everyone" and "our president" or a named person include all readers. (2) Age (Part 4): "the elderly" turns neighbors into a category; "longtime residents" or "older neighbors" describes them as people. (3) Disability (Part 2 and Part 4): "wheelchair-bound" misdescribes a mobility tool as confinement; "a resident who uses a wheelchair" is accurate — and ask whether the detail belongs on a welcome flyer at all, and what the founder calls herself. (4) The repair principle (Part 5): none of this requires shaming the writer. Mark the three spots, show the guide lines, and the flyer gets warmer and more accurate in one editing pass.
Try this — Inclusive Language
- ☐ Take one document you wrote — an email, a post, a flyer — and underline every word that names a person or a group of people
- ☐ Replace any gendered job titles and group greetings with neutral, accurate wording
- ☐ Check one term you are unsure about in APA's bias-free language pages or the Conscious Style Guide, and write down what you found
- ☐ Practise the clean correction out loud once: brief apology, correct word, move on
- ☐ Start a one-page personal style sheet: the terms you checked, the choice you made, and the guide you followed
Resources to keep — Inclusive Language
- APA Style — Bias-Free Language (apastyle.apa.org) — the American Psychological Association's researched guidance on writing about age, disability, gender, race and ethnicity, and more.
- Conscious Style Guide (consciousstyleguide.com) — community media guides and the reasoning behind respectful terms, gathered in one searchable place.
- UNC Writing Center (writingcenter.unc.edu) — a free handout on gender-inclusive language with practical rewrite strategies.
- Purdue OWL (owl.purdue.edu) — Purdue University's free writing lab, including stylistics guidance on avoiding bias.
What you earned / what's next — Inclusive Language
✅ Inclusive Language complete (quiz score 80% or higher): You can choose between person-first and identity-first language by preference, use gender-inclusive defaults, describe disability, age, faith, and race carefully, retire dated terms, and check a style guide instead of guessing.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — Inclusive Language
This certificate is presented by Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Minister
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
You have learned to make room with words — to name people accurately, respectfully, and as they name themselves. That care will be felt in every room your writing enters. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or the original course credential.
What's next: Return to the Certificate Topics for your next Year 1 Foundations topic.
Sources
- APA Style — American Psychological Association (apastyle.apa.org) — bias-free language guidelines for age, disability, gender, and racial and ethnic identity.
- Conscious Style Guide — Conscious Style Guide (consciousstyleguide.com) — community media guides and reasoning on conscious, inclusive terminology.
- Gender-Inclusive Language handout — The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (writingcenter.unc.edu) — strategies for gendered nouns, titles, and pronouns.
- Purdue OWL — Purdue University (owl.purdue.edu) — stylistics and bias-avoidance guidance for writers.
Course Record — Inclusive Language
- Learning outcomes: On completing this unit, the student can:
- Explain why language choices affect respect, accuracy, and trust
- Distinguish person-first from identity-first language and state when each is preferred
- Rewrite gendered titles, greetings, and pronouns into inclusive defaults, including singular they
- Apply careful terms for disability, age, faith, and race, and retire dated terms
- Perform a clean correction: brief apology, correct word, move on
- Check APA Style and the Conscious Style Guide to resolve a terminology question
- Study time: Approximately 1.5 hours — an estimate covering reading, activities, and the test. Students move at their own pace.
- Assessment: A 10-question test drawn only from this unit's lesson. 80% or higher passes and earns the unit certificate. Answers are not shown; your score is saved to your student record, and retakes are allowed.
- Level: Certificate Topics — Year 1 (Foundations) · Adult school · working rank on completion path: Freshman → Sophomore.
- Version: Version 1.0 — October 2026.
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