What Oscar Mayer Wieners Have to Do with Style

One of the joys (and frustrations) of the English language is how it ebbs, flows, and changes. Unlike dead languages, which are, well, dead, English is fully alive. As writers, it’s our job to stay informed. Does email have a hyphen? Is the word internet capitalized or lowercased? And what in the world is a singular they? It sounds a little schizophrenic if you ask me.

As you write and submit articles, your professionalism will shine if your grammar, punctuation, and formatting reflects the latest updates. Your editors will appreciate you, the publications you write for will invite you to contribute more often, and your edited articles will no longer look like the victim in a slasher movie.

Here are several changes and points of style you may find helpful. In the spirit of full disclosure, I also struggle with (and sometimes fail to remember) the rules that govern usage. When in doubt, look it up. But be sure to use credible sources. One of my new favorite reference books is Dreyer’s English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer.

The Singular They

Every year, editors announce big stylebook changes at the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) annual meeting. In 2017, they announced, “the AP Stylebook now allows writers to use they as a singular pronoun when rewriting the sentence as plural would be overly awkward or clumsy.” Even though I squirm a little, this change helps me avoid the annoying and often interruptive he/she or his/her.

Example: The teacher announced that each student could use one homework pass a month. This means he or she won’t have to turn in his or her homework on the night of the big football game. 

Change To: The teacher announced that each student could use one homework pass a month. This means they won’t have to turn in their homework on the night of the big football game. 

 The style also allows writers to pair they with everyone in similar situations.

Exclamation Points

The late Sue Duffy first editor at Reach Out, Columbiamagazine, gently but firmly told me, “Use as few exclamation points as possible — only when someone is shrieking or their house is on fire.” Even now, years later, whenever my left pinkie reaches for that forbidden punctuation mark, I hear her voice and my pinkie returns to its proper place.

“Began to” and “Started to”

In most cases, it’s best to avoid the use of “began to” or “started to.”

Example: “Tears began to roll down his cheeks.”

Change To: “Tears rolled down his cheeks.”

We don’t begin to cry, we cry. We don’t start to walk, we walk. We don’t begin to eat, we eat.

Occasionally someone might start to walk to the front of the church and change his mind, but most of the time, it’s best to use the verb only. If you’re not sure which is correct, try it both ways. You’ll realize that began to and started to are usually unnecessary.

Were vs. Was

Remember the hot dog jingle, “I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener”? Why doesn’t it go, “I wish I was an Oscar Mayer wiener”? Many writers struggle with knowing when to use were and when to use was.

Dryer proposes this rule of thumb: If you’ve presented a situation that is unlikely, improbable, or just plain impossible, use were. If the situation that is not the case but could be, use was.

Example using were: If I were to become the president of the United States, I’d end war, rid the world of nuclear weapons, and give every ten-year-old a bike.”

Example using was: If I was in that meeting, I’d have asked for a raise.

I hope these four points of style have made you think and settled more questions than they’ve raised. And in case you’re wondering, during that 2017 meeting of the ACES, editors also announced the Associate Press would no longer use a hyphen in email and lowercase the word internet. The Chicago Manual of Style followed suit the next day.

Now you know.

(Portions of this content were previously posted on The Write Conversation.)

Lori Hatcher is the editor of Reach Out, Columbia magazine and the author of several devotional books. Hungry for God … Starving for Time, Five-Minute Devotions for Busy Women won the 2016 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year award. Her most recent book, Refresh Your Faith – Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible is due out in the spring of 2020. A blogger, writing instructor, and inspirational speaker, her goal is to help women connect with God in the craziness of life. You’ll find her pondering the marvelous and the mundane on her blog, Hungry for God. . . Starving for Time . Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter (@LoriHatcher2), or Pinterest (Hungry for God).