Foreword

ix

Introduction

xiii

I

ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE

1

1

Form the Possessive Singular of Nouns by Adding’s

1

2

In a Series of Three or More Terms with a Single Conjunction, Use a Comma After Each Term Except the Last

2

3

Enclose Parenthetic Expressions Between Commas

2

4

Place a Comma Before a Conjunction Introducing an Independent Clause

5

5

Do not Join Independent Clauses with A Comma

5

6

Do not Break Sentences in Two

7

7

Use a Colon After an Independent Clause to Introduce a List of Particulars, an Appositive, an Amplification, or an Illustrative Quotation

7

8

Use a Dash to Set Off an Abrupt Break or Interruption and to Announce a Long Appositive or Summary

9

9

The Number of the Subject Determines the Number of the Verb

9

10

Use the Proper Case of Pronoun

11

11

A Participial Phrase at the Beginning of a Sentence Must Refer to the Grammatical Subject

13

II

ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION

15

12

Choose a Suitable Design and Hold to It

15

13

Make the Paragraph the Unit of Com Position

15

14

Use the Active Voice

18

15

Put Statements in Positive Form

19

16

Use Definite, Specific, Concrete Language

21

17

Omit Needless Words

23

18

Avoid a Succession of Loose Sentences

25

19

Express Coordinate Ideas in Similar Form

26

20

Keep Related Words Together

28

21

In Summaries, Keep to One Tense

31

22

Place the Emphatic Words of a Sentence at the End

32

III

A FEW MATTERS OF FORM

34

IV

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED

39

V

AN APPROACH TO STYLE (With a List of Reminders)

66

1

Place Yourself in the Background

70

2

Write in a Way that Comes Naturally

70

3

Work from a Suitable Design

70

4

Write with Nouns and Verbs

71

5

Revise and Rewrite

72

6

Do not Overwrite

72

7

Do not Overstate

73

8

Avoid the Use of Qualifiers

73

9

Do not Affect a Breezy Manner

73

10

Use Orthodox Spelling

74

11

Do not Explain Too Much

75

12

Do not Construct Awkward Adverbs

75

13

Make Sure the Reader Knows Who is Speaking

76

14

Avoid Fancy Words

76

15

Do not Use Dialect Unless Your Ear is Good

78

16

Be Clear

79

17

Do not Inject Opinion

79

18

Use Figures of Speech Sparingly

80

19

Do not Take Shortcuts at the Cost of Clarity

80

20

Avoid Foreign Languages

81

21

Prefer the Standard to the Offbeat

81

Afterword

87

Glossary

89

Index

97