Saturday, September 18, 2010

Keeping in mind that rules are made to be broken

Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

2 comments:

  1. I think I just encountered a dozen new words! Nice one :) Education is soo coool :)

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  2. Haha yea I had to look up 'de-accession'. It's good to learn something new!

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