Am I Being Consistent?

33. Am I Being Consistent?

Certain grammatical and stylistic rules are not so much concrete as they are conventional. The rule that ought to guide your writing in these instances is simply consistency. This rule, however, must give way to rules in place by specific disciplines or publishers. If the party for whom you are writing gives you a standard about certain items, you must use that rule in deference to your own. When you are free to choose for yourself, you may go either way so long as you stick with one form or the other.

I. BC/AD vs. BCE/CE

Both forms refer to the same event in history—the supposed birth of Jesus—as the dividing line which separates the ascending versus descending count of years. As such, both forms are correct. So which ought you to use? Either! Pick your favorite and use it, but remember that whichever form you employ must be used consistently—don't use BC for dates before Christ and CE for dates after in the same paper.

II. Euripides' versus Euripides's

Showing possession with an –'s is always important and always follows the hard and fast rules laid out in section 13. But, as we indicate there, forming the possessive on a noun that ends in –s has two accepted styles. Some publishers prefer one over the other, yet neither is technically more correct than the other. So pick which form you like and stick with it.

III. The Oxford Comma

While many people have a strong preference regarding the Oxford—and as a serious author you should develop a serious preference!—there isn't a rule governing when it should and should not be employed. By convention (and as indicated in section 31), it is the default form in English writing. However, many publishers are moving away from its use—including Oxford, for whom it is named! The rule that you need to follow the publisher's standard remains firm here, but if you have a preference—and the choice—for one way or the other, you are welcome to use it. Just use one style consistently.

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Certain grammatical and stylistic rules are not so much concrete as they are conventional. The rule that ought to guide your writing in these instances is simply consistency. This rule, however, must give way to rules in place by specific disciplines or publishers. If the party for whom you are writing gives you a standard about certain items, you must use that rule in deference to your own. When you are free to choose for yourself, you may go either way so long as you stick with one form or the other.

I.	BC/AD vs. BCE/CE
	Both forms refer to the same event in history—the supposed birth of Jesus—as the dividing line which separates the ascending versus descending count of years. As such, both forms are correct. So which ought you to use? Either! Pick your favorite and use it, but remember that whichever form you employ must be used consistently—don't use BC for dates before Christ and CE for dates after in the same paper.

II.	Euripides' versus Euripides's
	Showing possession with an –'s is always important and always follows the hard and fast rules laid out in section 13. But, as we indicate there, forming the possessive on a noun that ends in –s has two accepted styles. Some publishers prefer one over the other, yet neither is technically more correct than the other. So pick which form you like and stick with it.

III.	The Oxford Comma
	While many people have a strong preference regarding the Oxford—and as a serious author you should develop a serious preference!—there isn't a rule governing when it should and should not be employed. By convention (and as indicated in section 31), it is the default form in English writing. However, many publishers are moving away from its use—including Oxford, for whom it is named! The rule that you need to follow the publisher's standard remains firm here, but if you have a preference—and the choice—for one way or the other, you are welcome to use it. Just use one style consistently.