User:Giraffedata/comprised of

This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Shortcut WP:COMPRISEDOF

This page in a nutshell: "Comprised of" is poor phrasing in Wikipedia. "Composed of" and "consists of" are better alternatives. Many people consider "comprised of" to be incorrect usage, rooted in confusion between the verbs "to comprise" and "to compose". Style manuals usually advise against the phrase. Not everyone agrees "comprised of" is wrong, but no one finds it better than the alternatives. "Comprised of" acceptance does not vary regionally. I have been actively removing the phrase from Wikipedia articles for years. "Comprises of" and "Comprising of" are similarly poor wording. Some people object to this work. Some do not object, but do see it as a waste of my time. Rarely, someone reverts one of these edits on principle. Many people appreciate the work.

I have edited thousands of articles so that they do not contain the phrase "comprised of". Edit summaries for those edits usually refer to this page.

This page explains the purpose of these edits and the project in general.

(If you came here to find the flaw in my reasoning because you already know I am wrong, you should probably read the section Common misunderstandings of my thoughts and my work first, because you might just be attacking a straw man).