It's okay to use an ampersand (&) any time you don't feel like writing out the word "and."

The ampersand (&) is an often over-used abbreviation for the word and. Its use should be limited to a few situations.

We use an ampersand:

in certain company names; e.g. Smith & Jones Consulting;
if space is very limited; e.g. in a table with a lot of text;
when artistic considerations dictate; e.g. a logo; and
in some academic references; e.g. (Grant & Smith, 1998).

Do not use an ampersand in general writing simply to abbreviate the word and. For example, we write:

We need to reorder toner cartridges and paper.

not:

We need to reorder toner cartridges & paper.

More Info: www.betterwritingskills.com

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72 Comments

Richard Jamieson

& by whose decree is this nonsense?

skullfire

Opinion, this question should be removed.

Suzy

Not a grammatical basis. Irrelevant question based on opinion

Fleuriefirst

To say something is, or is not, okay when referring to language practices is arcane. Language evolves!

Kelly Tharp

In my Handbook of current English (By Perrin-Smith) it says the same thing as the above answer. It's not grammatically correct to use it in place of the word 'and' in a sentence. People now days, want to change how language was once structured to fast, quick, and nothing but abbreviations. I call it lazy writing, and it will not get you very far in higher education settings. Probably why people want to change things so they don't have to learn to do it correctly an attitude that has come with texting usage which is almost 75% or more abbreviations. There's a place for texting language and a place for formal construction, just depends on who you are writing for or to.

Patty K

Peter de Loriol, I have not written the word "and" since I was a child. I cannot write an ampersand, instead I use a sort of connected plus sign

Patty K

How on earth did this question get approved? It is an OPINION, not a fact!

Kath Thomson

acks, the info was not really that informative. The ampersand can be used in any informal writing like your shopping list, adverstisements, posts on social media, blogs etc. But you will never see it in books, magazines, newspapers, letters from insurance, your lawyer, your city council or research articles. The ampersand is not used in formal writing.

Kath Thomson

Peggy Tinsley, and nobody says you can't if it is in informal writing. But you'll never see it in books, magazines, newspaper articles, company letters or Phd theses. This is an unwritten rule for formal writing.

Kath Thomson

Suzy, not on opinion. Ever seen an ampersand in a published book, magazine, thesis or company letter? Formal writing does not use &, only informal.

Kath Thomson

Fleuriefirst, maybe but in this case it still holds true. Basically & is only used informally but not in formal writing like books, magazines, company letters, formal documents etc.

Kath Thomson

In other words we should only use & in informal writing but not in formal writing. It's not used in a novel, formal letter (eg from your bank, city council or Insurance company) or a published research thesis.

Marilyn Mumper Fisher

Very poorly worded. True/false are opinions, not grammatical law.

Susan Lake-Harris

Sorry - no. If I'm in a hurry, it's absolutely okay for me to use &, regardless of how much space I might have. :)

earlepg

Couldn't bring the article up to see what authority might have been used. In general, though, I've been known to use the ampersand, but only sparingly and following pretty much the same "rules" set here.