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 > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or > leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > -- Peter H. Fries Box 310 Mount Pleasant MI 48804 Phone: 989-644-3384 Cell: 989-400-3764 Email: [log in to unmask] Web page: <http://cmich.edu/chsbs/x23516.xml<http://cmich.edu/chsbs/x23516.xml>> [among 'emeritus faculty'] To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/