Filled with a whole host of English words. Archaism. Wit and humour.
It's also a rant book in disguise. Aimed at understanding, ridiculing and openly chastising the constants of 'Wattpad Tomfoolery'.
I saw a post last night whilst perusing the world wide web. I will not say where. Nevertheless, the person in question was being belligerent in their quest to highlight and eradicate certain creative pieces that didn't suit their tastes. Therefore, I created this chapter to explain the correct usage of the ampersand for those of you who might care to use it properly, as it was meant.
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This fascinating symbol was once part of the alphabet. Children would recite the end of the alphabet thusly "X, Y, Z, and per se and." With that last "and" being the ampersand symbol.
Per se is Latin for "by itself," so they were quintessentially saying "X, Y, Z, and by itself and."
People on here, people in general and business folks alike often appear clueless when using ampersands. And they frequently get ampersand usage wrong in their endeavours.
But & and (and) have precise and distinct functions, and uses. At worst, writers commonly and casually overuse & as a fully interchangeable equivalent of and but it is their erroneous mistake to make. That is why this easy list of ampersand usage rules was created.
Did you know the tendency to overuse & has worsened over time? Causation owing to less formal digital communication being in use. Therefore requiring character shortcuts, and thusly shorthand which is all now considered the norm.
Do you know the rules for correct ampersand usage?
Should I enlighten you?
Ampersand usage is a style detail many people don't think important enough to merit such attention. So then, if most people don't know the principles, who pray tell, will notice if you make a cock up?
Unfortunately, it's little details like proper ampersand usage that can make your writing look rather dumb, even to readers who don't know exactly why.
The rules are simple.
• 1: Do not use the ampersand in regular text, headings or titles as a replacement for (and). Just don't—except as noted in the second rule.
• 2: Limit ampersand use to these few situations ⤵️:
Proper nouns like company names, e.g., "Rose & Crown" "Dog & Duck"
When logos, titles, or names contain the mark as aesthetic element.
And also in titles of creative works, including but limited to novels, songs, and albums. In film credits, screenplays, etc. The (&) indicates a closer collaboration than (and).
In common shorthand expression such as "R&D," "rock & roll," or "country & western."
