Editing and Usage: Times are a-changin

 
With a new year comes big news on the grammar and editing front! The style guide for The Washington Post in now accepting the word: they to refer to a singular noun. This of course led to cheering and some uproar in the editing and the language police communities. I was thrilled by the change, and as Mary Norris, copy editor for The New Yorker, suggests in her new book, felt it was inevitable.

For those of you who are not nerds in this area, this just means that according to the Washington Post Style Guide, it is now okay to say "One should be careful with their words, shouldn't they?" I'm using their and they to refer to the singular one. Under the old, nit-picky rules, I should have said, "One should be careful with his or her words, shouldn't he or she?" Even the sticklers out there would agree with me that the first example is better, right?

But, let me bring it back to why it's relevant to grant writing... It's not. If the creators of the Washington Post Style Guide were reviewing your grant proposals, this would be important to remember. But, they're not. And, the first rule of grant-writing is Thou shalt write for thy audience. So, when you're writing your grant proposal, consider the norms in your field. Stick to common usage unless there are specifics to your field. For instance, use the word use instead of utilize. Simplify where you can and make all language and editing decisions with your likely reviewers in mind.

Happy New Year!

Resources
The Washington Post Style Guide Now Accepts 'Singular' They - mental_floss blog
OWL: Online Purdue Writing Lab - Purdue University