His vs. His or Her?

Question

Is it ok to just say his instead of saying 'his or her.' If so, should I use his for the whole paper and not say his or her sometimes and just his other times. What do you suggest. Whenever I say his or her it sounds dragged out.

Answer 1

Language purists most likely would say stick with "his," but you can also be more contemporary by sprinkling "her" throughout. It all depends on how formal the paper is supposed to be. If it is ultra-formal, stick with "his" and vary it once in a while with "one" as in "If one wishes to be a successful contemporary writer he must be careful not to offend one's readers."

And Jimmie Frisbee is right: try to avoid it altogether when you can because it generally makes your writing stronger.

Answer 2

I believe either is correct. Other people have differing opinions, but you are right not to use "their" as so many people do.

I use his or her most of the time, just to be inclusive. Often times, there are ways to rearrange a sentence so that you can avoid this.

Original: Someone lost his or her pencil.
Revised: Someone lost a pencil.

Original: When writing, it is important for one to use proper grammar in his or her paper.
Revised: It is important to use proper grammar when writing papers.

And so on...

Not the best examples, but I hope this helped.

Answer 3

For a paper, I think it's fine to use his.... OR her.. (pick one and stick with it.)

Of course, you an always make it plural and say "they" and "their".... but that can get annoying too.

Answer 4

Just use THEIRS instead - it is MORE correct, and doesn't sound as stupid as saying his/hers 50 times ;););)