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Purdue OWL News for April 13, 2004
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The Purdue OWL Staff
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Apr 13, 2004 10:49 PDT
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The Purdue OWL News
April 13, 2004
Welcome to the Purdue OWL News!
The Purdue OWL News is an online newsletter about happenings in the
Purdue University Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing
Lab (OWL). You can visit our website at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu>. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit
<http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/>. To unsubscribe
from the newsletter, click on the link at the bottom of this email.
Writing Question of the Week
Can you answer a question for me? Is it not proper to use "their" for
plural entities (like "British Petroleum and Shell Oil") even though
"they" are not sentient beings? It's correct to use "they," right?
Thanks, Kim
Answer
That's fine, Kim. "They" is our only third-person plural pronoun in
English; we use "they" to refer to everything from people to pencils.
The only area where there might be some confusion is in referring to a
single corporation as "they." This is a linguistic/conceptual issue. Is
Shell Oil, for example, an "it" or a "they"? Grammatical purists will
aruge correctly that Shell Oil is a company, singular, and thus an "it":
Shell Oil has seen its profits rise dramatically. We say/write this
despite knowing the Shell Oil is a company comprised of many different
individuals, etc.
The OWL Help Nest
Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you wish
to contribute a response to the topic, please write to us at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to
include your name and/or your email address when we publish your
response. The following week, we'll publish the best information and
advice that we receive in the newsletter. If you have a question for our
readers, please send it to us at owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu.
This Week's Question
As far as I know the standard US English date format is
"month-day-year", while the standard British English date format is
"day-month-year". But then I was wondering if a section of the American
public might not be using the "day-month-year" format too. Or is this
completely ruled out by American usage? Could you please comment on this
issue or direct me to a Web resource?
Answers:
There is a segment of the population living in the United States that
uses the "British" day-month-year format. These are people from other
countries where that standard is correct. It only really becomes an
issue for the first 12 days of each month. All things considered, the
"British" format makes more sense, as it goes from specific to
general.--Dale MacQueen
ISO suggests: year month day. 2004 April 06. Maybe even better, add the
name of the day. 2004 April 06 Tuesday. Also remember that Poland notes
Monday as the 1st day of the week.--G. Steed
Next Week's Questions
Every time I think I have the difference between wake/woke etc. and
awake etc. straight, something comes up to confuse me all over again.
What is the difference in their usages? Is there an easy way to
remember the difference?
I wish to expand my awareness on the proper usage of Him and His. Do we
say, "a great friend of his" or "a great friend of him"? With "her" the
convention seems pretty simple for it being the only option.
What's Happening on OWL
OWL Eye on...Avoiding Plagiarism
It's that time of the semester when too many students are either
confused or tempted by plagiarism. One of OWL's most popular handouts,
Avoiding Plagiarism, can help you and your students avoid
end-of-semester tragedies. Point your browser to
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
What's Happening in the Writing Lab
OWL Eye on...Semester Crunch-Time
Purdue Students should make appointments to see tutors soon. The Writing
Lab ends tutorials for the semester at 12:00Noon, Friday, April 30. The
Lab will be open for students to use our computers, but no tutorial
services (or ESL conversation groups) will be offered after 4/30.
Students may make appointments by dropping by HEAV226, or calling
49-43723.
OWL Eye on...ESL Conversation Groups
Conversation Group Schedule for Spring 2004:
Mondays 11:00-12:00Noon
Tuesdays 4:30-5:30PM
Wednesdays 11:00-12:00Noon
Thursdays 4:30-5:30PM
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can email us at any time at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can also email the OWL coordinator,
Karl Stolley, at coordi-@owl.english.purdue.edu and the webmaster,
Erin Karper, at webma-@owl.english.purdue.edu. (Erin and Karl take
turns writing the newsletter.)
If you received this newsletter as a forward and would like to get your
own subscription, visit
http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/ to subscribe.
This newsletter is copyright (C) 2004 the Purdue University Writing Lab
and Purdue University. Purdue's OWL is located at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu.
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