I paid $50 for this bag more or less.

[Anna232]

Does the position of "more or less" in a sentence depend on each sentence? Is its use correct in my sentence?

1. I paid $50 for this bag more or less.
2. I have more or less completed the essay. Or "I have completed the essay more or less.

 

[emsr2d2]

Does the position of "more or less" in a sentence depend on each sentence? Is its use correct in my sentences?

1. I paid $50 for this bag, more or less.
2. I have more or less completed the essay. Or
3. I have completed the essay, more or less.

Note my corrections above. As you can see, when you choose to put "more or less" at the end, it needs to be preceded by a comma.
The usage in sentence #1 makes sense - you're simply not giving the exact amount you paid for the bag. It was probably somewhere between $48 and $52.
In sentences 2 and 3, it would be used more as an afterthought. You can't really have "more or less" completed something. It's either complete or it's not. However, we would use this phrase to make it clear that, although the actual writing part is finished, the essay could probably do with a bit of polishing or refining.