mira batoAt 05:56 PM 12/15/97 -0600, you wrote: >Dear list, > >Since there seems to be quite an interest in the proper use of the English >language among a few members of the list, I am submitting the following >material as a guide for the rest of us. I hope you all enjoy it in the >spirit in which it is presented. > >Fifty Rules for Writing Good > > 1. Each pronoun should agree with their antecedent. > 2. Between you and I, case is important. > 3. A writer must be sure to avoid using sexist pronouns in his writing. > 4. Verbs has to agree with their subjects. > 5. Don't be a person whom people realize confuses who and whom. > 6. Never use no double negatives. > 7. Never use a preposition to end a sentence with. That is something up >with which your readers will not put. > 8. When writing, participles must not be dangled. > 9. Be careful to never, under any circumstances, split infinitives. >10. Hopefully, you won't float your adverbs. >11. A writer must not shift your point of view. >12. Lay down and die before using a transitive verb without an object. >13. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should. >14. The passive voice should be avoided. >15. About sentence fragments. >16. Don't verb nouns. >17. In letters themes reports and ad copy use commas to separate items in a >series. >18. Don't use commas, that aren't necessary. >19. "Don't overuse 'quotation marks.' " >20. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (if the truth be told) >superfluous. >21. Contractions won't, don't, and can't help your writing voice. >22. Don't write run-on sentences they are hard to read. >23. Don't forget to use end punctuation >24. Its important to use apostrophe's in the right places. >25. Don't abbrev. >26. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!! >27. Resist Unnecessary Capitalization. >28. Avoid mispellings. >29. Check to see if you any words out. >30. One-word sentences? Never. >31. Avoid annoying, affected, and awkward alliteration, always. >32. Never, ever use repetitive redundancies. >33. The bottom line is to bag trendy locutions that sound flaky. >34. By observing the distinctions between adjectives and adverbs, you will >treat your readers read good. >35. Parallel structure will help you in writing more effective sentences >and to express yourself more gracefully. >36. In my own personal opinion at this point of time, I think that authors, >when they are writing, should not get into the habit of making use of too >many unnecessary words that they don't really need. >37. Foreign words and phrases are the reader's bête noire and are not apropos. >38. Who needs rhetorical questions? >39. Always go in search for the correct idiom. >40. Do not cast statements in the negative form. >41. And don't start sentences with conjunctions. >42. Avoid mixed metaphors. They will kindle a flood of confusion in your >readers. >43. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. >Tell me what you know." >44. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. >45. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. >46. Be more or less specific. >47. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, exaggeration is >a billion times worse than understatement, which is always best. >48. Never use a big word when you can utilize a diminutive word. >49. Profanity sucks. >50. Last but not least, even if you have to bend over backwards, avoid >clichés like the plague. > >Lederer, Richard. (1994) Adventures of a verbivore. Pocket Books: New York. > >Kindest regards, > >Tom > >Tom Seay >The University of Texas at Austin >t.seay@mail.utexas.edu > > > >
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