This wording makes me think it is an island (like Isle Royale).
Peter

On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 11:30 AM, Carol Morrison <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> It seems logical that "surrounded on three sides" is redundant because a
> peninsula only has three sides. I'm going to go with the following revision:
>
>
> The Keweenaw Peninsula is surrounded by Lake Superior.
>
> Thanks again for the advice.
>
> Carol
>
>
> --- On *Fri, 9/30/11, R. Michael Medley (ck) <[log in to unmask]>* wrote:
>
>
> From: R. Michael Medley (ck) <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Word usage problem?
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Friday, September 30, 2011, 8:23 AM
>
> Notice, however, that we can't say that Florida (also a peninsula) is
> surrounded on three sides by ONE body of water!  We might say
>
> 1. "Florida is a peninsula bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of
> Mexico."
>
> 2. "Florida is bounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of
> Mexico."
>
> 3. PROBABLY NOT: "Florida is a peninsula bounded on three sides by the
> Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico."
>
> One wonders if students would be tempted to write number 3 as a way of
> "displaying" their knowledge of geographical terms.  In fact, in earth
> science or social studies, they may have learned the definition of
> peninsula as "a body of land bounded by water on three sides."
>
> As others have pointed out, the issue in the original sentence may be one
> of redundancy, not an unforgivable sort of redundancy.  If I wanted
> students to reduce wordiness or display economy of language, this is not
> the sort of problem I would first turn my attention to.  The example,
> however, does pose a critical thinking exercise that raises some awareness
> of economy: why use 4 words when 1 will do?
>
>
> R. Michael Medley, Ph.D.
> Professor of English
> Eastern Mennonite University
>
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Peter H. Fries

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