Re: And Or situations

[Kathleen MacDowell <kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Lauren, I've always understood that AP style (for newspapers) did not use
the serial comma, but other "formal" writing style guides, such as Chicago
and APA, do. I imagine that some scientific or engineering guides might
have their own styles.

Re inconsistency: Is there any guide that isn't? Think of the rules for
writing out numbers in Chicago, and there are probably other examples. All
those little nitpicky details can be annoying, but they remind me of the
statement we often use in discussions--it depends :-)

Kathleen


On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 3:38 PM, Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net> wrote:

> On 10/22/2013 12:34 PM, Robert Lauriston wrote:
>
>> Huh? The serial comma is good style everywhere.
>>
>
> I agree but is a regular point of controversy and an entertaining source
> of irony for me.
>
>  "Among those interviewed were [Merle Haggard's] two ex-wives, Kris
>> Kristofferson and Robert Duvall."
>>
>
> The Reuters General Style Guide prefers no serial comma. Their online
> handbook (http://handbook.reuters.com/) is giving 504 errors but states,
> "Use commas to separate items in a list, e.g. cheese, fruit, wine and
> coffee or Smith despised ballet, hated the theatre and was bored by opera.
> Note that there is normally no comma before the final and. However, a comma
> should be used in this position if to leave it out would risk ambiguity,
> e.g. He admired Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, and Leonard Bernstein."
>
> That's nice and inconsistent.
>
> Ironies being what they are, Thompson-Reuters owns FindLaw, an online
> repository of case law and other legal documents. FindLaw provides helpful
> guides for preparing legal documents. On the comma, one document states,
> "DO consider the placement of punctuation marks, since even a misplaced
> comma can change the meaning of a sentence." http://smallbusiness.findlaw.
> **com/business-contracts-forms/**do-s-and-don-ts-contracts-**
> terms-article.html<http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-contracts-forms/do-s-and-don-ts-contracts-terms-article.html>
>
> I think that when a rule of writing is clear in one context but can
> produce vagueness in another context, then the rule is vague and should not
> be used. The use of two rules, like what Reuters suggests for commas, is
> inconsistent and not a "rule."
>
> Both the serial comma and the "and/or" conundrum give rise to inconsistent
> rules of writing that placate writers who are unable to write clearly
> without using crutches like confusing slashes and random commas.
>
> In what looks like nuisance writing, the Reuters style guide uses "and/or"
> nine times and makes no mention of an "and/or" rule.
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Kathleen MacDowell
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com


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