Worth Quoting: William Safires Rules for Writing

1. Do not put statements in the negative form.
2. Remember to never split an infinitive.
3. It is incumbent on one to avoid archaisms.
4. The passive voice should never be used.
5. Proofread care-fully to see if you words out.
6. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
7. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
8. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
9. A writer must not shift your point of view.
10. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
11. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
12. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
13. Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
14. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
15. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
16. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
17. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
18. Always pick on the correct idiom.
19. The adverb always follows the verb.
20. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

(Source: The New York Times)

Comment on this article

Similar Articles:

• Instant Writing Fix: Get Rid of the Warm Up
• The Language Perfectionist: Tricky Singulars and Plurals
• The Book on Bears and Bulls
• The Language Perfectionist: Here’s Some “Practical” Advice
• Word to the Wise: Pleonasm