Grammar change in description of Minigrep #4617
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"a string to search for" and "a string for which to search" to my mind are equivalent in conversational English but in academic writing students are often asked to avoid ending clauses on a preposition - after all, they are _pre_positional phrases and the traditionally placed to be in a prefix notation to an object. I believe this change preserves the intent and meaning while avoiding phrasing that may be perceived as awkward to some readers. By way of motivation, I teach both writing and Rust at University and am slated to quote this exact passage, this term, to students whom I have previously taught technical writing.
See previous commit.
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I'm aware some people insist on prescribing not ending phrases with a preposition. To me the original wording seems both more idiomatic as well as easier to parse (indeed less awkward). |
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I found an awkward turn of phrase in the description of the minigrep project and am proposing different wording that avoids terminating clauses with a preposition. I am not particularly opinionated about academic style but:
I am submitting this PR now while working on course materials for next term, which currently includes a pointer and a direct quote of this passage.
Thank you!