Post History
When I asked this on English.SE, the question was closed; it was suggested that I ask on Writers.SE instead. To be clear, I mean the section sign § (utf-8: 0xC2 0xA7), which is available via \S in ...
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T01:50:59Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/3644 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
Warrick
·
2019-12-08T01:50:59Z (about 5 years ago)
When I asked this on English.SE, the question was closed; it was suggested that I ask on Writers.SE instead. To be clear, I mean the section sign § (utf-8: `0xC2 0xA7`), which is available via `\S` in LaTeX, `§` in HTML, and `Compose+s+o` in the X Window System. In the main text of a scientific article, I write out the word "section", e.g., "In Section 3, I review the details of". For references, I like to specify a section to make the reference more specific and use the section sign, e.g., "as in Smith & Bloggs (1994, §8.2.5)". Is this usage wrong or otherwise discouraged? I prefer using the symbol for brevity; a reference like "Smith & Bloggs (1994, Section 30.1.5)" seems awkward to me. However, one of my co-authors, who is usually right about grammar and style, disagrees. If using the symbol in this way is wrong, then when should one use the section sign, if ever? I could probably sidestep the issue by referring instead to pages. Is this preferred under standard citation practices?
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2011-08-17T14:31:25Z (over 13 years ago)
Original score: 13