7. ✏️ The Elements Of Style

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Source: .writer/books/1. 🚧 Project/2. 📜 Rules of Writing/7. ✏️ The Elements of Style.org

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The central principles of *The Elements of Style* focus on clarity, conciseness, and precision. They are divided into three main categories:

*Singular possessive:* Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding *'s*, regardless of the final consonant.
*Serial comma:* In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.
*Parenthetic expressions:* Always enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
*Independent clauses:* Do not join independent clauses with just a comma; use a semicolon if there is no conjunction between them.
*Broken sentences:* Do not break sentences in two by replacing commas with periods.
*Agreement:* The number of the subject determines the number of the verb, even if there are intervening words between them.

*Planning:* Choose a suitable design or structure before you begin and hold to it.
*The paragraph as a unit:* Make the paragraph the unit of composition, dedicating one paragraph to each distinct topic.
*Active voice:* Prefer the active voice, as it is usually more direct, vigorous, and concise than the passive voice.
*Positive statements:* Put statements in positive form. Avoid tame, hesitating language and the use of the word "not" as a means of evasion.
*Concrete language:* Use definite, specific, and concrete language to call up pictures in the reader's mind, rather than relying on vague abstractions.
*Omission of needless words:* This is a heavily emphasized rule: a sentence should contain no unnecessary words, and a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.
*Parallelism:* Express coordinate ideas in similar grammatical forms so the reader can easily recognize their relationship.
*Word order:* Keep related words together to avoid confusion and ambiguity. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.

*Author's posture:* Place yourself in the background and draw the reader's attention to the sense and substance of the writing rather than your own mood or temper.
*Focus on essentials:* Write with nouns and verbs instead of relying on adjectives and adverbs to pull a weak noun out of a tight place.
*Revision:* Revising and rewriting are essential parts of the writing process; very few writers get it right on the first try.
*Moderation:* Do not overwrite or overstate, as doing so will make the reader lose confidence in your judgment. Avoid the constant use of qualifiers like *rather*, *very*, and *little*.
*Simplicity:* Do not explain too much to the reader. Avoid constructing awkward adverbs and steer clear of fancy, pretentious words.
*Clarity above all:* Be clear. If you become hopelessly mired in a sentence's syntax, break it apart and build shorter, simpler sentences.
*Neutrality:* Do not inject your personal opinions into the text unless there is a good reason to do so.
*Vocabulary:* Prefer the standard over the offbeat. Avoid foreign languages, corporate jargon, and dialect unless you are highly skilled with them.