In this installment of Word Knots we’ll discuss not a word that’s misused or confused, but an element of style that should be followed.

 

Once again our source for this is installment is The Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Chicago: Writer’s Digest Books). It’s a great book: Check it out.

 

From Fiske (excerpted):

 

ampersand

 

As Fiske writes (edited and excerpted):

 

Use an ampersand (&) only in proper names—business names, book titles, and the like—that use it themselves; never use it in place of and. Aside from the hurried, the only people inclined to us & in place of and are those who have scant sense of self and scant sense of style, and believe using & somehow swells them both.

 

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I’m firmly with Fiske on this one. Ampersands often appear in PowerPoint presentations and in headings in business documentation, but I am not a fan.

 

In formal writing, such as in a book, they really have no place and in my view make the content look cheap and haphazard. 

Remember: In self-publishing, presentation is critical. If you’re a self-publishing author, check out our new publishing blog, where each week we discuss topics relevant to self-publishing.

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