Is that the only thing that bothers you? :)
--Pat Kelly
----------
>From: james creasy <Black94PGT@pacbell.net>
>To: "John F. Kelly Jr." <76067.1750@compuserve.com>, "BayArea Team.Net"
<ba-autox@autox.team.net>
>Subject: Re: 47 rules for literacy
>Date: Wed, Apr 17, 2002, 9:07 AM
>
> an odd spelling of the work 'clichis'. is that british spelling?
>
> -james c
> OSP - Outstanding Spelling, Punctuation
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John F. Kelly Jr." <76067.1750@compuserve.com>
> To: "BayArea Team.Net" <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 8:32 AM
> Subject: 47 rules for literacy
>
>
>> Previously I've offered this forum a 10-item list to help improve writing
>> quality.
>>
>> Then this came in today that Really gets to the heart of it all.
>> Obviously 47 rules are better than 10.--John Kelly
>>
>> Things they forgot to put in the Associated Press Manual:
>>
>> 1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
>> 2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
>> 3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
>> 4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
>> 5. Avoid clichis like the plague. (They're old hat.)
>> 6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
>> 7. Be more or less specific.
>> 8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually)
> unnecessary.
>>
>> 9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
>> 10. No sentence fragments.
>> 11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
>> 12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
>> 13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's
>> highly superfluous.
>> 14. One should NEVER generalise.
>> 15. Comparisons are as bad as clichis.
>> 16. Don't use no double negatives.
>> 17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
>> 18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
>> 19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
>> 20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
>> 21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words
>> however should be enclosed in commas.
>> 22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
>> 23. DO NOT use exclamation points and all caps to emphasise!!!
>> 24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
>> 25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth
>> shaking ideas.
>> 26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not
>> needed.
>> 27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
>> quotations. Tell me what you know."
>> 28. 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.
>> 29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
>> 30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
>> 31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
>> 32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
>> 33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
>> 34. The passive voice should never be used.
>> 35. Do not put statements in the negative form.
>> 36. Verbs have to agree with their subjects.
>> 37. A writer must not shift your point of view.
>> 38. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences
>> of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
>> 39. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
>> 40. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb
>> is.
>> 41. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
>> 42. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
>> 43. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular
>> nouns in their writing.
>> 44. Always pick on the correct idiom.
>> 45. The adverb always follows the verb.
>> 46. Be careful to use the rite homonym.
>> And finally .....
>> 47. Proof-read carefully to see if you any words out
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