RE: And Or

["Al Geist" <al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com>]

Ben wrote:

...using the phrase "and/or" to mean the inclusion of all or any combination
of items, including only one item in a given list just doesn't seem right to
me-though I see it everywhere....

Theodore Bernstein in "The Careful Writer" wrote "...this combination is a
visual and mental monstrosity that should be avoided..."  Strunk and White
state that and/or "...is a device, or shortcut, that damages a sentence and
often leads to confusion or ambiguity."

You see "and/or" a lot in government, military, and legal writing, but that
doesn't make it good writing. In many cases, "and/or" is used because the
original author learned to use the combination from previous mentors who
were to lazy to write a clear sentence, or didn't know how to write clearly.
(I worked with a number of government proposal writers who were retired
military and everything they generated was infected with acronyms and
"and/or." This is not a slam on the military, but an observation of writers
trained by the military.)

Every time I see this convention, I rewrite the sentence. After all, isn't
clarity our business?

Al Geist
Technical Writing, Help, Marketing Collateral, Web Design and Award Winning
Videos
Voice/Msg: 802-658-3140
Cell: 802-578-3964
E-mail: mailto:al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com
URL: http://www.geistassociates.com (Online portfolio and resume)
See also:
URL: http://www.geistimages.com (Fine art photographic prints for home or
office and beautiful note cards for all occasions.)
 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.