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====== Style Guidelines ====== | ====== Style Guidelines ====== | ||
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+ | ===== Concerning the indiscriminate use of the ampersand ===== | ||
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+ | The ampersand should be avoided in body copy. It disrupts the flow of the text and produces an unsightly type colour. Its use in this manner is pleasantly absent in any professionally written and designed publication or correspondence. Needless to say, indiscriminately //mixing// "&" | ||
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+ | In fact, in most prose, the ampersand is best avoided except in certain standard cases, such as in company names (e.g. H&FJ, Secker & Warburg, Walrus & Barnacles). | ||
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+ | Due to the wonders of modern computing technology, the removal of offending ampersands in any particular document is now a trivial matter. However, this can in no sense be viewed as license to cultivate poor habits in the first place. Every find and replace takes time and involves risk. Even the loss of a few seconds might become critical in a tightly-managed workflow, and the accidental // | ||
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+ | Further arguments against the indiscriminate use of the ampersand: | ||
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+ | You may have convinced yourself that, since the ampersand consists of just one character, and " | ||
===== Punctuation ===== | ===== Punctuation ===== | ||
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Wrong use of punctuation here is not only jarring - it can also lead to misreading. | Wrong use of punctuation here is not only jarring - it can also lead to misreading. | ||
- | ---- | + | < |
Nonrestrictive relative clauses are parenthetic, | Nonrestrictive relative clauses are parenthetic, | ||
- | The audience, which had at first been indifferent, | + | < |
- | In 1769, when Napoleon was born, Corsica had but recently been acquired by France. | + | < |
- | Neither Stowey, where Coleridge wrote //The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,// is a few miles from Bridgewater. | + | < |
In these sentences, the clauses introduced by //which,// //when,// and //where// are nonrestrictive; | In these sentences, the clauses introduced by //which,// //when,// and //where// are nonrestrictive; | ||
- | The audience was at first indifferent. Later it became more and more interested. | + | < |
- | Napoleon was born in 1769. At that time Corsica had but recently been acquired by France. | + | < |
- | Coleridge wrote //The Rime of the Ancient Mariner// at Nether Stowey. Nether Stowey is a few miles from Bridgewater. | + | < |
Restrictive clauses, by contrast, are not parenthetic and are not set off by commas. Thus, | Restrictive clauses, by contrast, are not parenthetic and are not set off by commas. Thus, | ||
- | People who live in glass houses shouldn' | + | < |
Here the clause introduced by //who// does serve to tell which people are meant; the sentence, unlike the sentences above, cannot be split into two independent statements. The same principle of comma use applies to participial phrases and to appositives. | Here the clause introduced by //who// does serve to tell which people are meant; the sentence, unlike the sentences above, cannot be split into two independent statements. The same principle of comma use applies to participial phrases and to appositives. | ||
- | People sitting in the rear couldn' | + | < |
- | Uncle Bert, being slightly deaf, moved forward. // | + | < |
- | My cousin Bob is a talented harpist. // | + | < |
- | Our oldest daughter, Mary, sings. // | + | < |
When the main clause of a sentence is preceded by a phrase or a subordinate clause, use a comma to set off these elements. | When the main clause of a sentence is preceded by a phrase or a subordinate clause, use a comma to set off these elements. | ||
- | Partly by hard fighting, partly by diplomatic skill, they enlarged their dominions to the east and rose to royal rank with the possession of Sicily. | + | < |
+ | </ | ||
[Strunk & White, //The Elements of Style,// 3-5] | [Strunk & White, //The Elements of Style,// 3-5] | ||
- | ---- | + | < |
A commenting [nonrestrictive] clause should be within commas; a defining [restrictive] one should not. This is not an arbitrary rule; it is a utilitarian one. If you do not observe it, you may fail to make your meaning clear, or you may even say something different from what you intend.… | A commenting [nonrestrictive] clause should be within commas; a defining [restrictive] one should not. This is not an arbitrary rule; it is a utilitarian one. If you do not observe it, you may fail to make your meaning clear, or you may even say something different from what you intend.… | ||
- | I have made enquiries, and find that the clerk, who dealt with your enquiry, recorded the name of the firm incorrectly. | + | < |
- | The relative clause here is a defining one. The comma turns it into a commenting one and implies that the writer has only one clark. The truth is that one of several is being singled out; and this is made clear if the commas after //clerk// and //enquiry// are omitted. | + | The relative clause here is a defining one. The comma turns it into a commenting one and implies that the writer has only one clerk. The truth is that one of several is being singled out; and this is made clear if the commas after //clerk// and //enquiry// are omitted. |
The same mistake is made in: | The same mistake is made in: | ||
- | The Ministry issues permits to employing authorities to enable foreigners to land in this country for the purpose of taking up employment, for which British subjects are not available. | + | < |
The grammatical implication of this is that employment in general is not a thing for which British subjects are available. | The grammatical implication of this is that employment in general is not a thing for which British subjects are available. | ||
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An instruction book called " | An instruction book called " | ||
- | Pilots, whose minds are dull, do not usually live long. | + | < |
The commas convert a truism into an insult. | The commas convert a truism into an insult. | ||
+ | </ | ||
[Gowers, //The Complete Plain Words,// 244-46] | [Gowers, //The Complete Plain Words,// 244-46] | ||
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- | --- // |