Tips to Improve Your Writing

Tips to Improve Your Writing

1. Avoid alliteration. Always.

2. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

3. Employ the vernacular.

4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

5. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

6. Remember to never split an infinitive.

7. Contractions aren't necessary.

8. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

9. One should never generalize.

10. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

11. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

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

13. Be more or less specific.

14. Understatement is always best.

15. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

16. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

17. The passive voice is to be avoided.

18. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

19. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

20. Who needs rhetorical questions?

21. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

22. Don't never use a double negation.

23. capitalize every sentence and remember always end it with point

24. Do not put statements in the negative form.

25. Verbs have to agree with their subjects.

26. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.

27. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

28. A writer must not shift your point of view.

29. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)

30. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!

31. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to the irantecedents.

32. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.

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

34. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.

35. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

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

37. Always pick on the correct idiom.

38. The adverb always follows the verb.

39. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; They're old hat; seek viable alternatives.

:think:

:Hahaha:

Rhonda wrote:

37. Always pick on the correct idiom.



:think:

Can't argue with that one.

lol

Rhonda wrote:

flatbroke wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

37. Always pick on the correct idiom.



:think:

Can't argue with that one.

Does that make you the Village Idiom???

Yup. But at least I don't let my participle dangle....I heard you can get banned here for that.

:Hahaha:

You know I bet Cheryl knows what every one of these sentences mean, I'm kinda feeling like the villiage idiot. You guys are way too funny!!

Lorrie

*LOL* Thank you so much for the very clear advice!

Those are funny. I'll have to have my 8th grader read them. She has a research paper due after spring break. It will be interesting to see how many of those she gets.

I think I only understand about 3 of those sentences... I have no idea what the rest are saying...
:shy: lol

Haha i loved it! I really thought they we're going to be helpful tips lol.