Complete Rules of Good Writing

A writer should not annoy half of his readers by using gender-specific language.

Always finish what you star

Avoid overuse of ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

Always avoid annoying alliteration.

Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

Always pick on the correct idiom.

A writer must not shift your point of view.

Avoid clichés like the plague – they’re so old hat.

Be more-or-less specific.

Consult the dictionary frequently to avoid mispeling.

Comparisons are as bad as clichés.

Contractions aren’t necessary.

Do not use, unnecessary, commas.

Do not use a foreign word when there is an adequate English quid pro quo.

Do not use hyperbole; not even one in a million can do it effectively.

Don’t repeat yourself and avoid being repetitive.

Don’t use no double negatives. The double negative is a no-no.

Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.

Don’t indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.

Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!!

Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.

‘Don’t use unattributed quotations.’

Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, ‘I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.’

Eschew obfuscation.

Employ the vernacular.

Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.

Exaggeration is a million times worse than understatement.

Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.

It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

If you reread and reread your work and reread it again you will weed out the weeds of repetition.

If any word is improper at the end of sentence, a linking verb is.

It behoves you to avoid archaic expressions.

It is recommended that measures should be taken to ensure that the length of sentences is not excessive and that the complexity of said sentences is reduced.

Never use a big word where a diminutive alternative would suffice.

No sentence fragments.

Never use two words where a single expression will do.

One should never generalize.

One-word sentences? Eliminate. Always!

Parenthetical marks, however relevant, are unnecessary.

Parenthetical words like these should be enclosed in commas.

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of ten or more words, to their antecedents.

Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.

Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

Refrain from being indirect.

Subject and verb always has to agree.

The recommendation is for the use of verbs rather than nouns.

Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors.

The passive voice is to be ignored and should not be used.

Understatement is always the best by far.

Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.

Use youre spell chekker to avoid misspelling and to catch typographical errers; they always get it write.

When dangling, watch your participles.