Rules For Clear Writing
There's always something going on in the world that is not so good at the moment, so I thought would offer an article that may amuse some of you out there! Having attended a grammar school many years ago... as a pupil for those who were wondering... I had the rules of clear writing drummed into me from the age of eleven, although I suspect it was happening at primary school too, in readiness for the "King Edward's exam" and Eleven + that we got to take in those long forgotten days.
The following is a light-hearted look at how things may have turned out with a different teaching standard:
Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)
Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
Be more or less specific.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
No sentence fragments.
Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
One should never generalize.
Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
Don't use no double negatives.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be ignored.
Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
Do not use multiple exclamation points NOR all caps for emphasis!!!
Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
You might not agree with using any or all of the above advice statements but they would certainly provide some interesting reading to combat the usual AI produced material that we receive on a daily basis nowadays!
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