Out of the words and expressions presented in this chapter, the two that I most relate to, since I always use (or misuse, according to the book) and misspell are: "all right" and "and/or."
According to the book, "all right" is "idiomatic in familiar speech as a detached phrase in the sense "Agreed," or "Go ahead," or "O.K." [and is] properly written as two words —all right." I have a tendency to misspell this phrase as "alright," because I've seen it spelt that way so many times and just picked up on spelling it that way. From now on I will try to spell the phrase correctly.
"And/or" is "a device, or shortcut, that damages a sentence and often leads to confusion or ambiguity" (Strunk & White 40), and based on this definition that the book gives, I constantly damage my sentence by using this device or shortcut. Chapter four provides an example of a way that a writer can properly write a sentence that he or she would ordinarily use an "and/or" in:
Wrong: "First of all, would an honor system successfully cut down on the amount of stealing and/or cheating?"
Right: "First of all, would an honor system reduce the incidence of stealing or cheating or both?"Personally, I find the "right" example to be more confusing than the "wrong" one, but according to The Elements of Style, it is less ambiguous and confusing. I will try to cut down on my "and/or" usage, even though I believe the phrase can sometimes be used in sentences in an unambiguous or confusing way.
Works Cited
Strunk, William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon, 2000. Print.
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