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I am aware of the usage of "lack thereof", but I was wondering whether it is valid to use "lack of it".
During a conversation with someone I used "lack of it" in a sentence, and she claimed that it is an error and that "lack thereof" should be used instead.
Example sentence:

Do you think that accent (or lack of it) is a critical factor in obtaining a job?

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    It's not wrong. The two are syntactically identical.
    – Dmitry Brant
    Apr 17, 2013 at 19:28
  • 'or lack thereof' is the "accepted" (common) way of saying it, but it's not an error to say or write it your way.
    – Tyler James Young
    Apr 17, 2013 at 19:28
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    Or lack thereof is indeed the most usual way of saying it; but that's a 'fossil' from legal language, and your version, or lack of it, is much better suited to even the most formal modern discourse.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Apr 17, 2013 at 21:12

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"Lack of it" is a more awkward construction of the sentence than "lack thereof." Though words like "thereof" can seem stuffy or antiquated, they are often the best way to express yourself.

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    Though one could of course take the view that sometimes it is "better" or more effective to use plain, boring, universally understandable language rather than fancy antiquated verbiage. Both arguments can be made...
    – Neil Coffey
    Apr 18, 2013 at 19:53
  • I fail to see how ‘lack of it’ is somehow more awkward than ‘lack thereof’. If anything, it is the opposite to me; and there are contexts in which ‘lack thereof’ is not a possibility at all.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Oct 17, 2013 at 18:03
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The issue is obscured for me by another issue -- that the sentence itslef is a little awkward. Obviously we understand that we're talking about the candidate's accent, but that could be clearer.

Do you think that a candidate's accent is a critical factor in obtaining a job?

If that is present then I think that "(or lack thereof)" becomes a more clear choice. I'd prefer to use commas though:

Do you think that a candidate's accent, or lack thereof, is a critical factor in obtaining a job?

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