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Subject:Irritable Colons From:Micheal Uhl <MU17692 -at- USAV01 -dot- GLAXO -dot- COM> Date:Sun, 26 Jun 1994 18:42:00 EST
I am always in search of useful information concerning our language
and its proper use. So naturally when I saw the title of an
advertisement that looked like an article in the June 26, 1994 issue
of PARADE Magazine titled "How to Avoid These Mistakes in English,"
it caught my eye. United Research Publishers wants readers to buy
their grammar book, "Errors in English and Ways to Correct Them."
So what? Big deal, you say.
They placed a pair of ads, a second one juxtaposed to the one
I just mentioned. When I read its title, "Irritable Colon?" I thought
of this technical writer forum. Who other than professional writers
would describe colons as "irritable?"
Well it seems that gastro-intestinal health specialists are as
concerned with irritable colons as we are.
United Research Publishers also wants to sell us their book about
irritable colons, only they're the kind we sit on as well as,
perhaps, agonize about.
Let this be a lesson...be very careful about words in their context.
Now what I want to know is, do you use semi colons to separate what
follows an irritable colon, or are bullets more appropriate? ;-)
Michael Andrew Uhl, Group Leader (MU17692 -at- Glaxo -dot- COM)
Technical Communication Consulting Group
Medical Data Sciences, Medical Data Administration
Glaxo Inc. Research Institute
Five Moore Drive Room 5.3357
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
(919) 990-6353
