Correct Attribution

A way of wording an expression in a way that specifies which individual, entity, or other thing committed an act or caused something to happen.

An example of an 'indirect attribution' is, "It was determined that 'unless exempt by diplomatic status, all persons entering the United States, including U.S. citizens, are subject to examination and search by Customs and Border Patrol officers'." Transformed into a "correct attribution" that statement would say something like, "In August of 2009, CBP Directive 3340-049 laid out its policies on searching electronic devices....In the course of a border search, with or without individualized suspicion, an Officer may examine electronic devices and may review and analyze the information encountered at the border.” Though correctly attributing an action increases transparency and accountability, and generally furthers the common good, it takes more time to say and/or space to write.