1. Avoid alliteration. Always.

2. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

3. Employ the vernacular.

4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

5. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

6. Remember to never split an infinitive.

7. Contractions aren't necessary.

8. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

9. One should never generalize.

10. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

11. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

12. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

13. Be more or less specific.

14. Understatement is always best.

15. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

16. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

17. The passive voice is to be avoided.

18. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

19. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

20. Who needs rhetorical questions?

21. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

22. Don't never use a double negation.

23. capitalize every sentence and remember always end it with point

24. Do not put statements in the negative form.

25. Verbs have to agree with their subjects.

26. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.

27. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

28. A writer must not shift your point of view.

29. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)

30. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!

31. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to the irantecedents.

32. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.

33. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.

34. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.

35. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

36. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.

37. Always pick on the correct idiom.

38. The adverb always follows the verb.

39. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; They're old hat; seek viable alternatives.

eh ? 

I before E except after C is a weird rule.

Mike wrote,
I before E except after C is a weird rule.

ie in believe, fierce, collie, die, friend
ei after c in deceive, ceiling, receipt, ceilidh

The rule is very well known; Edward Carney calls it "this supreme, and for many people solitary, spelling rule".[1] However, its short form as above has many common exceptions; for example:
ie after c: species, science, sufficient
ei not preceded by c: seize, weird, vein, their, foreign, feisty

Hoppy,  [smiley=undecided.gif]

I would not wish to be found guilty of plagiarism, or use of an uncredited source....  ;)

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From Stephen Fry's "QI" Christmas Special.


Quote:

- The panel are asked to complete the following sentence: "I before E except...". There is no actual answer to this because the "magic e" rule, which is "I before E except after C", is wrong. There are more exceptions to the rule and thus it is no longer taught in schools. There are 923 words in English that have "cie" in them, meaning there are 21 times as many words which break the rule than obey it. Words which break the rule include "glacier", "species", "concierge", "caffeine", "weird", "Madeira", "hacienda", "weir", "being" and "veil". (Forfeit: After C) - Tangent: The panel, especially Lee, annoy Stephen by failing to give him examples where the rule does not work, with Lee constantly giving the example of "ceiling" which does follow the rule.

When discussing the Queen's English;
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G'day Ben,
Do you remember this from your school days.

i before e, Except after c, Or when sounded as " A,"
As in neighbour and weigh.

Hoppy.

Hi Maz,
It's a good start to the day, when members respond
to these posts, with their comment.

Hoppy.