And versus or: specify the requirement.
By Adam Frick · Illustrated draftWill you reject an application containing both?
An application asks for a CV or a cover letter. You send both, hoping to be helpful. Has that extra effort met the requirement or broken the rule? I want an instruction to answer that question before the applicant prepares the submission. A few words can distinguish permission to send both from a demand to choose exactly one.
See the supporting references.Follow the instruction through.
Require both documents.
Constructed teaching exampleThe application must include a CV and a cover letter.
CV only: no · Letter only: no · Both: yes
Allow either document or both.
Constructed teaching exampleThe application must include a CV or a cover letter or both.
CV only: yes · Letter only: yes · Both: yes
Require exactly one document.
Constructed teaching exampleThe application must include either a CV or a cover letter, but not both.
CV only: yes · Letter only: yes · Both: no
| Submission | Both required | One or both | Exactly one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither | No | No | No |
| CV only | No | Yes | Yes |
| Letter only | No | Yes | Yes |
| Both | Yes | Yes | No |
See the published wording.
Many buildings have a mixture of natural and mechanical ventilation, with either (or both) systems in different spaces.
Do not make every ordinary choice sound like a contract.
I favour explicit alternatives when accepting or rejecting a submission depends on the combination. The HSE example shows how “or both” can permit a combination without a long explanation. An informal choice with an obvious meaning may need no such expansion. Test the real consequence of ambiguity before adding a qualification to every “or”.
References and evidence
Read the evidence and its limits.
The HSE wording explicitly allows a combination through the phrase “or both”. This published example demonstrates the usefulness of stating the combined possibility. The example does not establish one universal interpretation of “or”, so my recommendation asks writers to specify the intended requirement.