Re: forbidden to apostrophize

[Reinhard Jaehnig <RJaehnig -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

>I'd like to be able to convince my boss that this change
>is unnecessary but the editor has convinced her that
>technical writing standards forbid apostrophes.
>Is this true? I learned the exact opposite in the
>technical writing course I took.

Technical writing standards do not forbid using apostrophes.
But there are several rules and standards which, when applied,
will lead to a smaller number of apostrophes in the text.

a) Contractions
Often discussed; pretty much all the pros and cons have been
posted to the list in previous discussions.

b) Genitive Constructions
Quite a number of people would advise you against using too
many genitive constructions; the Microsoft Manual of Style, e.g.,
presents "Word's templates" and "the spelling checker's dictionary"
as examples for this incorrect use of possessives (see article
"apostrophes"). In this thread, Tim Altom has also posted an
example to the list in which he substituted "keyboard's plug"
with a prepositional phrase.

Most likely scenario:
It wouldn't surprise me if an editor's advice (don't use contractions,
avoid these genitive constructions) was "re-phrased" by a boss
(and non-linguist) into something like: "Don't use apostrophes!"

Greetings
Reinhard

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