By unknown author
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Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
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Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
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And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
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It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
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Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)
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Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
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Be more or less specific.
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Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
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Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
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No sentence fragments.
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Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
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Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
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Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly
superfluous.
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One should NEVER generalize.
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Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
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Don't use no double negatives.
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Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
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Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
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The passive voice is to be ignored.
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Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however
should be enclosed in commas.
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Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
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DO NOT use exclamation points and all caps to emphasize!!!
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Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
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Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
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Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations.
Tell me what you know."
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If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole;
not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
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Puns are for children, not groan readers.
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Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
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Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
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Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
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Do not put statements in the negative form.
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A writer must not shift your point of view.
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Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences of 10 or
more words, to their antecedents.
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Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
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If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
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Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
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Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in
their writing.
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The adverb always follows the verb.
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Be careful to use the rite homonym.
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And finally…
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Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
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Writing don'ts - by example |
