Light Notes
A Few Rules of Writing
• Do not put statements in the negative form.
• DO NOT overuse exclamation points and all caps to emphasize!!!
• If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb
is.
• Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.
• When dangling, watch your participles.
• Between you and I, case is important.
• Eschew ampersands & abbrevs, etc...
• Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
• Contractions aren’t necessary and shouldn’t be used.
• In all cases, you should never generalize.
• Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “I
hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
• Avoid the use of dyed-in-the-wool cliches like the plague; they
are old hat.
• Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary;
it’s highly superfluous.
• Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking
ideas.
• Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
• Simplify! How? Eliminate one-word sentences.
• It is incumbent on us to eschew archaisms.
• Steer clear of incorrect forms of verbs that have snuck in the
language.
• Vary your words variously so as to use various words.
• Sentences without verbs—bad idea.
• Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
