When not to use ampersand

When should youusethe ampersand symbol? A unique feature of the English language is the ampersand or ‘&’ symbol.

Use of ampersand in formal writing

This is an ancient symbol, but most of us are still unsure when to use the ampersand. You might wonder whether you can use the ampersand instead of ‘and’ in academic or official writing.

Today we will try to understand the purpose of this punctuation mark and the contexts for when using the ampersand is allowed or permissible.

What is an ampersand?

As Dictionary.com puts it, the symbol of an ampersand, i.e. ‘&’ stands for the word ‘and’. The character represents the word ‘and.’

The ampersand is a typographical symbol. A typographical symbol is a character that is not a punctuation mark but is used in writing, mainly in informal writing. ‘&’ is used as a substitution for the word ‘and’ and also read aloud as ‘and.’