In the case of language, the debate takes on further complication from disagreement, not to mention a good deal of misunderstanding, concerning the role of conventions themselves in linguistic practice. But twenty-first century readers will infer that the writer means only male students. Sometimes gender is important in a sentence. Regarding the choice of pronouns, writers should always match nouns and pronouns by number, that is, whether they are singular or plural. Most of your professors, however, expect you to match singular with singular and plural with plural.
Writers also encounter sexist language when writing about professions and occupations.
Choose words that are inclusive or risk your reader's misunderstanding. Most of these terms have become familiar to speakers of English. This choice is about common sense, making sure your reader understands what you are trying to say. The United States is a race-conscious country and our vocabulary about race has evolved during the last three hundred years. Some words that have been used in the past to talk about race are now considered offensive or out-dated.