When Is It OK to Use This?
The start of the year is a good time to brush up on one of the most inconsistent things in writing today – ampersands. Do you know when it's appropriate to use? In our abbreviation-happy world, the answer can be tricky. 🤔
In what cases is it correct to use an ampersand in place of "and," according to Associated Press style?
No cases
Headlines and titles
Related words(roads & bridges)
Names of companies and works
And the right answer is . . . option four. In Associated Press style and formal business writing, an ampersand is correct to use when it’s part of a company name (Procter & Gamble or Johnson & Johnson) or the title of a work (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory or Eats, Shoots & Leaves). Otherwise, besides in a few colloquial business-jargon abbreviations (R&D or M&A), the ampersand should not be used in place of “and.” However, many writers subconsciously shift to an ampersand when they encounter two or more related terms (sales & marketing or profits & losses). Besides being incorrect in most cases, the bigger problem with using ampersands is it invites inconsistency and, in turn, sloppiness. Should the ampersand be used in place of “and” just in the title? Or also in section heads? Or also with abbreviations? Or also with related words? Trying to use ampersands consistently can quickly turn into a mess. Another important point to keep in mind is that we’re really not using them to save space (two keystrokes less than "and"), but more to add a decorative element to our communication to make it look a bit more grand. But we shouldn’t. Symbols are used sparingly in journalistic and business writing. The dollar sign is used, and the percent symbol was only recently allowed, but otherwise we mostly write out words for symbols such as “plus” (“100-plus people”), “degree” (“350 degrees”), or “feet” or “inches” (“six feet and two inches”). For these reasons, the easiest and best policy with ampersands is to simply not use them, unless they’re used in the name of a company or published work.