50 Tips on How to Write Good

50 Tips on How to Write Good 50 Tips on How to Write Good 50 Tips on How to Write Good By Mark Nichol The contents of this post are an alphabetical arrangement of two lists that have been circulating among writers and editors for many years. In case you have missed out all this time, I’m sharing here the wit and wisdom of the late New York Times language maven William Safire and advertising executive and copywriter Frank LaPosta Visco. 1. A writer must not shift your point of view. 2. Always pick on the correct idiom. 3. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 4. Always be sure to finish what 5. Avoid alliteration. Always. 6. Avoid archaeic spellings. 7. Avoid clichà ©s like the plague. (They’re old hat.) 8. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. 9. Be more or less specific. 10. Comparisons are as bad as clichà ©s. 11. Contractions aren’t necessary. 12. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively. 13. Don’t indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions. 14. Don’t never use no double negatives. 15. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!! 16. Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before. 17. Don’t use commas, that, are not, necessary. 18. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous. 19. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, â€Å"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.† 20. Employ the vernacular. 21. Eschew ampersands abbreviations, etc. 22. Eschew obfuscation. 23. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. 24. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. 25. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. 26. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. 27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. 28. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. 29. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. 30. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. 31. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions. 32. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. 33. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice. 34. No sentence fragments. 35. One should never generalize. 36. One-word sentences? Eliminate. 37. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary. 38. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas. 39. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of ten or more words, to their antecedents. 40. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct. 41. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out. 42. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 43. Profanity sucks. 44. Subject and verb always has to agree. 45. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. 46. The adverb always follows the verb. 47. The passive voice is to be avoided. 48. Understatement is always best. 49. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed. 50. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers. 51. Who needs rhetorical questions? 52. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. Oh, and let me add one tip: If your article consists of a list and the title refers to the number of items in the list, count the number of items in the list carefully. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Computer Terms You Should KnowDeck the HallsTitled versus Entitled

Personal reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Personal reflection - Essay Example Much like what Gelb has said on his book, curiosity in the first step to genius. This is a trait that I possess. I am not easily fazed when there is a daunting task ahead. Instead, I try to keep calm and assert what needs to be done and in how things must be done. It is also the multifaceted approach to personal improvement that is discussed in ‘Quantum Leadership.’ Along with the changes in our society, there must also be the simultaneous change in the approach to leadership. â€Å"The leader’s role is to engage with the unfolding reality, perceive it, note its demands and implications, translate it for others and then guide others into action to meet the demands of a reality not quite present† (Porter-OGrady & Malloch, 2010). There had been times when I had been propelled to assume the role of the leader and take charge in having to complete a task given. As a group we had been given projects where there is research that must be accomplished. While others would be satisfied on having to make do with what is at hand, I try to exhaust all the resources that are available and not pass a half-baked project. There are times when what is necessary is not easily found but it becomes even more of an accomplishment when the same is done. Trying out new things is another part of leadership that I think highlight one’s capability. Instead of constantly applying the same ideas, it is best to break the norm in order to test the waters to improve. There are so many available technologies that I try to incorporate in order to let others participate in all aspects of work. It is by experience that I appreciate, together with others I worked with, that information is important to maintain a harmonious relationship . The availability of different modes makes this easier that there is no longer an

Historiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Historiography - Essay Example Trying to connect atrocities and brutal, ferocious events such as conquests and annihilation of peoples with the theory is a bit problematic, though. When thinking of men like Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador that has invaded America and eventually slaughtered the Native Americans extremely viciously, or like Hitler, which ascended to power in Germany in 1933 and was responsible for the most horrible murders of over 6,000,000 people, theres a difficulty in attributing the word "great" to them. Lets take the case of Cortes, for example. He had arrived in North America and at first befriended the Native Americans, accepting their gifts, enjoying their hospitality and planning some kind of cooperation with them. However, as time went on, major differences started to be evident between the Spanish army that mingled with the Native Americans. For example, the Spanish had a hard time understanding the religious customs and traditions the latter had. They saw some of their rituals as barbaric and primitive, since they involved human sacrifice and body mutilation. In time, tensions grew between the two groups until they reached a boiling point. From that point on, what happened was debatably inevitable. But was it really? Cortes was singlehandedly responsible for the brutal killing of many Indians, and what had previously started as an amicable friendship turned into a most gruesome bloodbath. Cortes refused to back down and was relentless in his quest to vanquish the Native Amer icans. His motive was to eradicate the natives and become a governor for this newly discovered land, gain in respect, status and wealth, and use the local resources to establish a thriving Spanish colony in this new land. In other words, he was driven by greed, a hunger for power and self-motivation. Lets take another example, one from recent time. Hitler has ascended to power through democratic

A Maternity Support Worker Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Maternity Support Worker - Assignment Example A Maternity support care and the work of maternity support workers basically entail antenatal care, intrapartum care and postpartum care for women and babies. Antenatal care is care present/ occurring before birth or during pregnancy. It is an important period for future parents to seek support and advice, explore their expectations as for future parents, their fears, concerns, and questions. However, this period is characterized by depression, commonly called antenatal depression/ prenatal depression. Couples are advised and helped about their depression in antenatal classes to prepare them for the possibility of antenatal and postnatal depression. Maternity support care and the work of maternity support workers basically entail antenatal care, intrapartum care and postpartum care for women and babies. Antenatal care is care present/ occurring before birth or during pregnancy. It is an important period for future parents to seek support and advice, explore their expectations as for future parents, their fears, concerns, and questions. However, this period is characterized by depression, commonly called antenatal depression/ prenatal depression. Couples are advised and helped about their depression in antenatal classes to prepare them for the possibility of antenatal and postnatal depression. During such sessions, expectant parents are informed that antenatal and postnatal depressions can happen to any mother or father, are no one’s fault, are taught about the early signs and informed of available help. The healthcare worker in the antenatal stage monitors the women and their relations closely to identify any signs of depression knowing of the fact that most women mask those feelings. This is done for instance by asking the right questions./ antenatal depression can be a precursor to postpartum depression if not tackled. Tackling these depressions help make childbirth and early parenting easy as any stress felt by mother can have negative effects on feta l development which can injure both mother and child. Factors leading to antenatal depression may be an unplanned pregnancy, history of abuse, difficulty becoming pregnant, economic issues, family constraints, relationship with the father, and jobs and responsibilities. Some of the signs and symptoms of antenatal depression are inability to concentrate, difficulty remembering, feeling emotionally numb, sleep problems not related to pregnancy, extreme/ unending fatigue, extreme irritability, a sense of fear about everything, lack of feeding interest or desire to overfeed, feelings of failure/ guilt, persistent sadness, loss of sexual desire, weight loss or gain unrelated to pregnancy, inability to get excited about the baby and form or feel a bond with the baby and thoughts of suicide/ death.

Catch-22 and the Theme of Death Essay -- Catch-22

Catch-22 and the Theme of Death    There are many ways for a man to die, but there is no way to bring him back after he has entered the world of dead. Catch-22 is a novel satirizing war, and because of this, it inevitably has a strong underlying theme of death. But unlike many war novels, Catch-22 doesn't use violent depictions of fighting or bloody death scenes to denounce the evils of war; it utilizes humor and irony to make an arguably more effective point. And even more importantly, Catch-22 is ultimately a novel about hope, not death. Although the inevitability of death is still a prominent motif, it eventually leads the main character, Yossarian, to realize that the desire to live is important and also that he can't simply live; he must live free of hypocrisy and oppression.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Nately's whore plays a major part in conveying the message about life and death in Catch-22, even though she doesn't become an important character until the novel nears its climax. Although Yossarian is only the messenger bearing the bad news of Nately's death, Nately's whore holds him responsible and follows him back to Pianosa in an attempt to murder him. Yossarian manages to repeatedly escape from her, but only as long as he continues to disobey the illogical and immoral rules of the military. When he agrees to meet with Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn, she catches him and seriously injures him. This may imply that by submitting to the oppression of the bureaucratic military system, Yossarian is only headed towards death and disaster. And in the midst of Yossarian's final revelation and his decision to desert the military, Nately's whore was hiding behind a door, ready to stab him. But ... ...but the desire to live is the most important impulse a man can have. But Yossarian can't live a life of hypocrisy or oppression under the military; this is what finally pushes him to desert. The knowledge that Orr finally paddled all the way to Sweden gives him hope, and he sees the only path he can take to be free. He knows it will be difficult, but he knows there is no alternative for him.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Although Catch-22 is a novel about war, it is not only about death. The message it ultimately conveys is one of hope. Yossarian finally realizes that the basic instinct to survive is the most important quality of a man, and that he must follow his impulse and escape from the military, which will only lead him to his death. Catch-22 may allow the military to do whatever the people can't stop it from doing, but it can't destroy hope.   

A Down-to-Earth Approach Essay

The postindustrial revolution is defined by computer technology. Since 1950, a third technological transformation has been unleashed by the development of the computer. The crucial technology of a postindustrial age concerns information. Computer technology forms the core of an Information Revolution. And, just as the Industrial Revolution did, the Information Revolution is now generating a host of new, specialized occupations. From a worker’s point of view, in the same way that the acquisition of technical skills held the key to success in the past, now workers must enhance their literacy skill as that is valued in the marketplace. The economic reality is that people unable to speak, write, or otherwise communicate effectively face declining economic opportunity. Computer technology has reduced the role of human labor in production. But to those that are able to rise to the challenge of the Information Age, however, the coming decades will bring new opportunities. The information Revolution is changing not just what people do but where they do it. The last economic revolution centralized the work force in factories, a pattern demanded by energy sources and the enormity of the new machinery. Today, however, consultants, salespeople, architects, writers, and other employees in â€Å"new cottage industries† can work virtually anywhere so long as they are equipped with computers, facsimile (fax) machines, electronic notebooks, and other new information devices that are increasingly lightweight and portable. Today’s more educated and skilled workers also no longer require-and often do not tolerate – the close supervision that marked yesterday’s factories. Further, the Postindustrial economy, a productive system based on service work and high technology is by nature an ongoing process. REFERENCE Henslin, James M. (2006). Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, Core Concepts (2nd ED). New York: Allyn & Bacon.

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