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Subject:Re: his/her From:"Bob S.- Contractor" <robert1 -at- SABU -dot- EBAY -dot- SUN -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 26 Mar 1993 09:13:14 PST
In "Hightech Writing" by Paula Bell:
"Using "he/she" and "him/her" is awkward and distracting............
The commonsense ways to eliminate sexism in writing are to use the second person
as much as possible - a good idea in technical writing in general-and to
avoid singular personal references................."
In my 12 years as a technical writer, I've never used the his/her form.
I haven't seen this book but it has been referred to.
"The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing" (Miller & Swift 1980).
Whatever form you decide on, be consistent throughout the document.