II. Elementary Rules of Usage

1.       Form the possessive singular of nouns with ‘s, whatever the final consonant.

Exceptions:

·         Ancient proper names ending in –es and –is

·         Jesus

·         For _______’ sake

Achilles’ heel should be the heel of Achilles, etc.

Pronominal possessives (hers, its, theirs, yours, oneself) have no apostrophe.

2.       Use a comma after each of three or more terms with a single conjunction.

Exception: names of business firms

Always precede and follow etc. and jr. with a comma.

3.       Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.

If interruption of a single word is slight, choose whether to omit both commas.

Applies to non-restrictive clauses (which, when, where); e.g. two independent statements.

Does not apply to restrictive clauses (cannot be split into two independent statements).

Place the first comma before the conjunction in a parenthetic expression.

4.       Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause.

May suggest rewriting to prevent appearance of afterthought (okay to leave some).

Place a comma before as (= because), for, or, nor, while (= at the same time).

5.       Do not join independent clauses by a comma; use a semicolon.

If using a conjunction to join clauses, use a comma.

Avoid: An adverb (i.e. accordingly, besides, so, then, therefore, thus) preceding the second clause require a semicolon. Instead: omit so in second clause, precede first clause with as.

Comma is okay for very short and similar clauses.

6.       Do not break sentences in two.

7.       A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence applies to the subject.

8.       Hyphenation precedence.

·         According to formation

·         On the vowel (vowel then hyphen)

·         Between double letters except at the end of the simple form

·         Between consonants by convention

III. Elementary Principles of Composition

9.       One paragraph to each topic.

Single paragraph is best for:

·         Brief description

·         Brief summary of literary work

·         Brief account of single incident

·         Narrative merely outlining an action

·         Setting forth a single idea

Otherwise: would subdivision improve it? Aid the reader.

Generally avoid single sentence paragraphs except transitions, indicating relation between parts of an exposition or argument.

10.   Begin paragraphs with topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning.

Sometimes expedient to precede the topic sentence by one or more sentences of transition. If more than one sentence is needed, use a separate paragraph.

Inside paragraph, relate to topic sentence by:

·         Restating in other forms

·         Defining its terms

·         Giving illustrations or specific instances

·         Establish by proofs

·         Show its implications and consequences

Don’t overuse in narrative.

11.   Use the active voice.

Choose subjects of sentences thoughtfully. It’s not always the principal character.

Avoid: there is, or could be heard.

Avoid making one passive depend upon another.

Avoid noun phrases which express the entire action and leave verbs with little to say.

12.   Put statements in positive form.

Make definite assertions.

Use not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never to evade.

Okay to use other negative words besides not.

13.   Omit needless words.

Use whether, not as to whether.

Use no doubt or doubtless, not there is no doubt but that.

Use for X, not for X purposes.

Use he, not he is a man who.

Use [adverb], not in an [adjective] manner.

Use this [noun], not this is a [noun] which.

Use is [adjective], not is an [adjective] one.

Avoid the fact that.

Who is, which was, and the like are superfluous.

Consider whether a single complex idea could be presented as a single sentence instead of a series of sentences.

14.   Avoid a succession of loose sentences consisting of two co-ordinate clauses.

Connectives tend to be and, but, who, which, when, where, and while.

Upon finding this, recast to remove monotony.

15.   Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form.

Different from repeating statements to emphasize a topic sentence.

Articles or prepositions applying to members of a series must be only before the first term or repeated for each term.

Correlative expressions (both, and; not, but; not only, but also; either, or; first, second, third) should be followed by the same grammatical construction.

Keep lists short; break long lists (more than nine items) into groups.

16.   Keep related words together.

Transfer phrases or clauses between the subject and principal verb to the beginning.

Exceptions:

·         Relative clause or expression in apposition

·         Deliberate creation of suspense

A relative pronoun should come immediately after its antecedent.

A noun in apposition may come between antecedent and relative.

Modifiers should come next to the word they modify.

17.   In summaries, keep to one tense.

18.   Place the emphatic words at the end.

Emphasize the new element in the sentence.

Any element other than the subject becomes emphatic when placed first.

IV. A Few Matters of Form

Headings: Follow with blank line.

Numerals: Do not spell out dates or serial numbers.

Parentheses: Punctuation outside as though absent; punctuation inside as though outside, omitting final marks except questions and exclamations, except when standing alone.

Quotations: Formal quotations are introduced by a colon. In apposition or as direct objects, preceded by comma. Verse is on new line and centered without quotation marks. Quotations introduced by that are not in quotations, nor are proverbial expressions and familiar phrases of literary origin.

References: Abbreviate. Omit act, scene, line, book, volume, page, except when referring by only one.

Titles: Prefer italics. Omit articles when placing a possessive before the title.

V. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused

All right: Always two words.

As good or better than: Rearrange the sentence.

As to whether: Use whether.

Bid: Use without to. Past tense is bade.

Case: Usually redundant.

Certainly: Don’t overuse.

Character: Usually redundant.

Claim: Do not use as a substitute for declare, maintain, or charge.

Compare: Compare to for resemblances; compare with for differences.

Consider: Followed by as when meaning “examined” but not as “believe.”

Dependable: Use reliable or trustworthy.

Due to: Use only for predicate or modifier; do not use to mean through, because of, or owing to in adverbial phrases.

Effect: The noun means result; the verb means to bring about or accomplish. Don’t confuse with affect.

Etc.: Not for people. Do not use after a list introduced by such as, for example, etc.

Fact: Use only for incontrovertible and verifiable matters.

Factor: Usually cliché. Replace.

Feature: Cliché. Replace. Avoid using as a verb.

Fix: Avoid colloquial use. It should mean fasten, make firm or immovable, etc.

He is a man who: Redundant. Use he.

However: As first word, always means in whatever way or to whatever extent. To mean nevertheless, preface with another phrase.

Kind of/sort of: Do not substitute for rather before adjectives and verbs, nor for something like before nouns except in familiar style.

Less: Refers to quantity, fewer refers to number. Less than a number as a collective noun is okay.

Line/Along these lines: Overused.

Literal/Literally: Do not use to support exaggeration.

[Verb] out/up:  Does not convey desired emphasis.

Most: Not a substitute for almost.

Nature: Tends to be vague or redundant.

Nearby: Prefer near or near at hand. Do not use as an adjective; use neighboring.

Oftentimes: Archaic; use often.

One hundred and one: Retain and.

One of the most: Threadbare and weak. Avoid.

People: The people is a political term; the public is all but. Use persons when using numbers.

Phase: Do not use for aspect or topic.

Possess: Not a substitute for have or own.

Respective/Respectively: Generally unnecessary.

So: Avoid using as an intensifier.

State: Not a substitute for say or remark. Restrict to express fully or clearly.

Student body: Use students.

System: Frequently redundant.

Thanking you in advance: Don’t be lazy. Thanking you, and then follow up with thanks if appropriate.

They: Not for use when antecedent is a distributive expression (each, each one, everybody, every one, many a man, anybody, any one, somebody, and some one). Use he unless she is appropriate.

Very: Use sparingly.

Viewpoint: Means point of view; not a substitute for view or opinion.

While: Avoid indiscriminate use for and, but, and although. Not a substitute for and or but. Replace by a semicolon. Suitable substitute for although when unambiguous.

Whom: Often incorrectly used for who before he said or similar expressions.

Worthwhile: Should apply only to actions, never nouns; avoid as a term of approval/disapproval.

Would: First person conditional requires should. Avoid for repeated actions in past tense.