Ampersand

[Binita]

A. There is a felony including misdemeanor, a felony and misdemeanor, and a felony ampersand misdemeanor.
Q. The felony and misdemeanor is different from felony ampersand misdemeanor?

Hi everyone, just wanted to know what you guys would do in this situation: Would you write the symbol & or the word ampersand?

[Jennie Ann]

Binita, if the speaker actually said "felony ampersand misdemeanor," I think I would write "felony ampersand misdemeanor." If the speaker said "felony and misdemeanor," then I would write "felony and misdemeanor." I don't know if there is a difference in the meaning of "felony and misdemeanor" or "felony & misdemeanor," if that is what you are asking.

That said, when somebody speaks the words "C-S-R-nation-dot-com," I am inclined to write "CSRnation.com."

As far as punctuation, though, it is a toughie. It comes up for me quite often. Sometimes I get agendas of meetings with the name of the organization in print. Some organizations use the ampersand in their title. For example, American Personal & Private Chef Association uses an ampersand in their tite and not the word "and." So, when somebody speaks those words, I make sure I include the "ampersand" in the title and not "and," even though the speaker said "and" and not "ampersand." It's kind of a Catch 22, in a way.

Another one I have problems with is the word "the" in titles. There is The Washington Post and The World Bank, but in the transcript, I do have moments when I have to think about how to write it, whether to go with Example A line of thinking, as depicted below, or Example B line of thinking.

Example A: I read the Washington Post today.
Example B: I read The Washington Post today.

Example A: I went to the World Bank meeting on G Street.
Example B: I went to The World Bank meeting on G Street.

It is a great question, and I look forward to reading the other responses. :-)

[Kyung]

I'd put the the symbol.

I think I'd write it out in this case and quote the and and ampersand in the follow-up question because the attorney is obviously making a point about what the witness said in terms of and versus ampersand.

[Binita]

Thanks a ton for your feedback. I'm considering putting quotes in the follow-up question. I think it's a good idea.

[Binita]

Hi Jennie, thank you so much for your reply. I'm going to go with you in this instance and write "felony ampersand misdemeanor" because the witness was talking about three different things which was later explained. Don't ask me what it is because this whole job was a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo! I think putting it like that makes more sense and is clearer to the reader.

As for punctuation, I do it just like you. If they use & in the title, I do ditto.

Regarding "the," what I do is I always capitalized the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech: I read The Washington Post today.

I'm not so sure about your second example. I would write: I went to the World Bank.