| The Whole Composition | |
| 100. | Opening devices |
| 101. | Point of view |
| 102. | What to include |
| 103. | Distraction |
| 104. | Serious tone |
| 105. | Light tone |
| 106. | Sequence |
| 107. | Chronological order |
| 108. | Position |
| 109. | Abstract to concrete |
| 110. | Summary to detail |
| 111. | Important to less so |
| 112. | Familiar to unfamiliar |
| 113. | Climax |
| 114. | Welding |
| 115. | Connectives |
| 116. | Repetition |
| 117. | Recapitulation |
| 118. | Division |
| 119. | Space emphasis |
| 120. | Place emphasis |
| 121. | Conclusion |
| 122. | Title |
| 123. | Plan |
| 124. | Revision by plan |
| 125. | Practice |
| The Paragraph | |
| 200. | Indention |
| 201. | Partly blank line |
| 202. | No indention |
| 203. | Conversation |
| 204. | Combination |
| 205. | Separation |
| 206. | Violent break |
| 207. | Irrelevant ideas |
| 208. | Topic sentence |
| 209. | Arrangement |
| 210. | Connectives |
| 211. | Linking |
| 212. | Shift in number |
| 213. | Shift in person |
| 214. | Shift in tense |
| 215. | Shift in voice |
| 216. | Shift in mood |
| 217. | Place emphasis |
| 218. | Space emphasis |
| 219. | Practice |
| Sentence Correctness Case | |
| 300. | Subject in nominative |
| 301. | Who as subject |
| 302. | Who as subject after verb |
| 303. | Predicate nominative |
| 304. | Pronoun in apposition |
| 305. | Pronoun after as, than |
| 306. | Possessive with gerund |
| 307. | “Neuter” nouns not in possessive |
| 308. | Objective case |
| 309. | Objective with infinitive |
| 310. | Objective after infinitive |
| Agreement | |
| 311. | This kind |
| 312. | Pronoun with antecedent |
| 313. | Verb with subject |
| 314. | Verb with each, none |
| 315. | Compound subject |
| 316. | Nouns with or |
| 317. | Collective nouns |
| 318. | Incorrect attraction |
| 319. | There is, there are |
| 320. | Besides, with |
| 321. | Nearer of two nouns |
| 322. | Who, which |
| 323. | Not with predicated noun |
| 324. | Don’t |
| 325. | Past and past participle |
| 326. | Correct principal parts |
| 327. | Lie-lay, sit-set, rise-raise |
| Shall and Will | |
| 328. | Shall and will |
| 329. | Should and would |
| 330. | Questions |
| 331. | Determination |
| 332. | Parallel tenses |
| 333. | Universal present |
| 334. | Subordinate clause |
| 335. | Infinitive |
| 336. | Adverb of time |
| 337. | Contrary to fact subjunctive |
| 338. | Have, not of |
| 339. | Had ought |
| Fragments | |
| 340. | Fragments |
| 341. | Phrases |
| 342. | Participial phrases |
| 343. | Clauses |
| 344. | Part of compound subject |
| 345. | Part of compound predicate |
| Incomplete Constructions | |
| 346. | Unfinished construction |
| 347. | Give verb subject |
| 348. | Insert word |
| 349. | Insert material |
| 350. | Elements without construction |
| 351. | Insert that after say, feel |
| 352. | Insert that of |
| 353. | Insert as after positive adjective |
| 354. | Insert much after very |
| 355. | Repeat verb |
| 356. | Repeat auxiliary |
| 357. | Repeat is, was |
| 358. | Repeat verb after auxiliaries |
| Inaccurate Constructions | |
| 359. | Correct conjunction |
| 360. | Insert transitional element |
| 361. | Shifted construction |
| 362. | One of the most |
| 363. | Exact predication |
| 364. | Idiomatic verb |
| 365. | Idiomatic preposition |
| 366. | Different preposition |
| 367. | Idiom |
| 368. | Awkwardness |
| 369. | Is where, is when |
| 370. | Is because |
| 371. | The fact that |
| 372. | Due to, owing to |
| 373. | Because of, on account of |
| 374. | Omit and |
| 375. | Omit irrelevancy |
| 376. | Redundant that |
| 377. | Change participial phrase |
| 378. | Of-phrase with verbal noun |
| 379. | Of-phrase with abstract verbal noun |
| 380. | Separate main clauses |
| 381. | Join elements with and |
| 382. | Join clauses with and |
| 383. | Modifiers together |
| 384. | Double negative |
| 385. | Or, not nor |
| 386. | Not hardly |
| 387. | Adverb, not adjective |
| 388. | Predicated adjectives |
| 389. | Who, which, that |
| Sentence Clearness | |
| 400. | Obvious antecedent |
| 401. | Position of pronoun |
| 402. | Ambiguous antecedent in indirect discourse |
| 403. | Antecedent in parentheses |
| 404. | Repeat distant noun |
| 405. | Unemphatic antecedent |
| 406. | Place of only, etc. |
| 407. | Place of negative |
| 408. | Use of correlatives |
| 409. | Place of correlatives |
| 410. | Place of subordinate clause |
| 411. | Place of relative clause |
| 412. | Confused verbs |
| 413. | Place of modifiers |
| 414. | Co-ordinate modifiers |
| 415. | Participial phrases |
| 416. | Participle with thus |
| 417. | Participle with conjunction |
| 418. | Adjective due |
| 419. | Gerund prepositional phrase |
| 420. | Repeat subordinating conjunction |
| 421. | Repeat auxiliary verbs |
| 422. | Repeat to with the infinitive |
| 423. | Repeat preposition with object |
| 424. | Repeat article with noun |
| 425. | Repeat possessive with noun |
| 426. | Parallel structure |
| 427. | Summarizing word |
| 428. | Use of and |
| 429. | Use of but |
| 430. | Comparative degree |
| 431. | Superlative degree |
| 432. | Shift in person |
| 433. | Shift in number |
| 434. | Shift in tense |
| 435. | Shift in mood |
| 436. | Shift in voice |
| Sentence Vigor | |
| 500. | Isolate |
| 501. | Separate |
| 502. | Condense |
| 503. | Combine |
| 504. | Vary structure |
| 505. | Vary beginning |
| 506. | Vary length |
| 507. | Loose to periodic |
| 508. | Striking ending |
| 509. | Climax |
| 510. | Emphatic position |
| 511. | Group related elements |
| 512. | Main ideas |
| 513. | Subordinate ideas |
| 514. | Simplicity |
| 515. | Far-fetched synonyms |
| 516. | Concreteness |
| 517. | Parallel structure |
| 518. | Repeat for emphasis |
| 519. | Monotonous repetition |
| 520. | Tautology |
| 521. | Pleonasm |
| 522. | Word in double sense |
| 523. | Consistent metaphors |
| 524. | Incongruous metaphors |
| 525. | Rhythm |
| 526. | Balanced sentence |
| 527. | Vivid predicate |
| 528. | Unemphatic passive voice |
| 529. | Awkward absolute phrase |
| 530. | Successive subordinations |
| 531. | Successive but and for clauses |
| Words | |
| 600. | See dictionary |
| 601. | Words almost alike |
| 602. | Exactness |
| 603. | New words |
| 604. | Verbs as nouns |
| 605. | Slang |
| 606. | Harmony |
| 607. | Poetical words |
| 608. | Hackneyed expressions |
| 609. | Pretentious expressions |
| 610. | Contractions |
| 611. | Editorial we |
| 612. | Simple pronouns |
| 613. | Speaking of husband or wife |
| 614. | Illiterate usage |
| 615. | Reputable words |
| 616. | Present words |
| 617. | National words |
| 618. | Plural abstract nouns |
| Spelling | |
| 700. | Doubling consonants |
| 701. | Single consonants |
| 702. | Final silent -e |
| 703. | -ce and -ge |
| 704. | Single consonant after double vowel |
| 705. | CEI |
| 706. | EI as ī and as ā |
| 707. | IE |
| 708. | Plurals in vowel and -y |
| 709. | Verbs in vowel and -y |
| 710. | Plurals in consonants and -y |
| 711. | Plurals in -ves |
| 712. | Foreign plurals |
| 713. | Don’t, won’t, can’t |
| 714. | It’s |
| 715. | Its, yours, hers |
| 716. | Spelling list |
| Punctuation | |
| Use period after: | |
| 800. | Declarative and imperative sentences |
| 801. | Abbreviations |
| No period after: | |
| 802. | Incomplete sentence elements |
| Use question mark after: | |
| 803. | Direct questions |
| 804. | Doubtful expressions |
| No question mark after: | |
| 805. | Indirect questions |
| Use exclamation point after: | |
| 806. | Exclamatory expressions |
| Use commas with: | |
| 807. | Co-ordinate clauses with and or but |
| 808. | Conjunction for |
| 809. | Parallel clauses |
| 810. | Dependent clause preceding |
| 811. | Descriptive clauses |
| 812. | Interchangeable adjectives |
| 813. | Words, phrases, clauses in series |
| 814. | And in a series |
| 815. | Confused elements |
| 816. | Names in direct address |
| 817. | Appositives |
| 818. | Geographical names |
| 819. | Dates |
| 820. | Absolute phrases |
| 821. | Interjections and parenthetical expressions |
| 822. | Direct quotations |
| Never use a comma: | |
| 823. | Between noun and its adjective |
| 824. | Around limiting clauses or phrases |
| 825. | With series of non-interchangeable adjectives |
| 826. | To indicate a pause |
| 827. | Before that in indirect discourse |
| 828. | Between unjoined main clauses |
| Use a semicolon between: | |
| 829. | Unjoined main clauses |
| 830. | Clauses joined by however, etc. |
| 831. | Long or complicated clauses |
| Never use a semicolon: | |
| 832. | Between clauses not co-ordinate |
| 833. | After salutation in a letter |
| Use a colon to introduce: | |
| 834. | Formal list of words, etc. |
| Use a hyphen with: | |
| 835. | Fractions or numbers less than 100 |
| 836. | Titles of two or more words |
| 837. | Divided words |
| 838. | Compound adjectives |
| 839. | Prefixes like co- etc. |
| Use a dash with: | |
| 840. | Broken thought |
| 841. | Informal parenthetical material |
| 842. | Summarizing expressions |
| Never use a dash: | |
| 843. | Instead of a period |
| 844. | Instead of a comma |
| Use quotation marks with: | |
| 845. | Direct discourse |
| 846. | Borrowed material |
| 847. | Quotation of more than one paragraph |
| 848. | Quotation within quotation |
| 849. | Quotation within second quotation |
| 850. | Quotation ending with comma or period |
| Never use quotation marks with: | |
| 851. | Names of books, etc. |
| Use an apostrophe: | |
| 852. | In contractions |
| 853. | With singular possessives |
| 854. | With plural possessives |
| Never use an apostrophe: | |
| 855. | With possessive pronouns |
| Use parentheses to inclose: | |
| 856. | Material foreign to unit of composition |
| 857. | Confirmatory figures |
| Never use parentheses to inclose: | |
| 858. | Cancelled words |
| Use brackets to inclose: | |
| 859. | Explanatory material in quotation |
| 860. | Practice |
| Mechanics | |
| 900. | One side of paper |
| 901. | Place of title |
| 902. | Blank second line |
| 903. | Write legibly |
| 904. | Number pages |
| 905. | Spacing |
| 906. | Divided words |
| 907. | Place of hyphen |
| 908. | Margins |
| 909. | Indention |
| 910. | Below last line |
| 911. | Underscoring |
| 912. | Underscoring for emphasis |
| 913. | To indicate footnote |
| 914. | Place of footnote |
| 915. | No abbreviation |
| Capitalization | |
| 916. | Proper nouns and pronouns |
| 917. | First word in sentence |
| 918. | First word in line of verse |
| 919. | Direct quotation |
| 920. | Names of social bodies, etc. |
| 921. | Reference to Deity |
| 922. | I and O |
| 923. | Titles of books, etc. |
| 924. | Titles with names |
| 925. | Names of months, etc. |
| Figures | |
| 926. | Word double numbers |
| 927. | Word sums in double numbers |
| 928. | Number sums in dollars and cents |
| 929. | Word sums less than one dollar |
| 930. | Word numbers as names |
| 931. | Beginning with figures |
| 932. | Sums as adjectives |
| Letters | |
| 933. | Letter heading |
| 934. | Business letter salutation |
| 935. | Personal letter salutation |
| 936. | Close of business letter |
| 937. | Close of personal letter |
| 938. | Envelope address |
| 939. | Punctuation of address |
| 940. | Formal note |
| 941. | Signature |