To avoid ambiguity, report a speech in the first, not in the third person.

Try to avoid the use of words that have two or more meanings: any, certain, left, lie, &c. [Any is sometimes used incorrectly for indefinitely large; e.g.: “He gave me any number of books.”]

Avoid using a word that leaves us for a moment doubtful what part of speech it is. E.g.: “The good remains, he said,” &c. [Until something further is given, we are in doubt whether remains is a noun, the subject of some unexpressed verb; or a verb, agreeing with its subject, good, used as a noun.]

Avoid the excessive use of such expressions as, of this sort, of this kind, in this way, in this manner. It is better to repeat the words to which the reference is made.

Avoid what is called the prospective use of it. Say, “To give is good;” not, “It is good to give.”

It is often said that a sentence ought not to end with a preposition. There is no objection, however, to such an ending, provided the preposition governs a relative pronoun and is not likely to be mistaken for some other part of speech. Thus: “The rule that I always adhere to,” is quite correct. [If preferred, “The rule to which I always adhere,” may, of course, be used.] It is hardly necessary to say that the clause or sentence should not end with the to of the infinitive; i.e., to, the sign of the infinitive, ought never to be used alone.

Avoid the excessive use of there is, there are, there will be, &c.

To relieve the monotony and to give force to the expression, change such constructions as, “He replied that he deemed it best that his example should not be followed;” into, “He deemed it best, he replied, that his example should not be followed.”

Force may often be gained by the use of particular, in place of general, terms. E.g.: gold for great riches, a crust of bread for poverty. On the same principle, a particular proper name may be used effectively for a common, or class, name. E.g.: “Solomon,” is more forcible than “the wisest man;” “Nero,” than “the most cruel man.”

The great rule, however, for force, or effect, is that the reader shall be kept in suspense; that is, that he shall be made to feel the incompleteness of the sentence, until the end is reached. To attain this object the following directions have been given: (1) Put a conditional clause first, not last. E.g.: “If he wishes, I will go away.” [When the conditional clause is very emphatic, it may be placed last.] (2) Let participial phrases come before the words qualified by them. E.g.: “Wasted by disease, worn out with toil, he was fast sinking into the grave.” [This remark will often apply to adjectives and adverbs, as well as to participles. E.g.: “Weary of life, glad to depart, he quietly passed away.”] (3) Use suspensive words: not only, but also; either, or; partly, partly; on the one hand, on the other; in the first, second, &c., place. Of course, this “principle of suspense” is not to be too frequently employed.

Emphatic words must be in emphatic positions; i.e., at the beginning or at the end of the proposition. “Coward though he was, he was forced to fight;” is much more striking than, “He was forced to fight, although he was a coward.”

The most emphatic place for the subject is at the end, its ordinary place being at the beginning of the proposition.

On a similar principle, the object is made emphatic by putting it before its verb.

Again, emphasis may be given by the use, before the emphatic noun, of such an expression as, as for the, as to the, concerning, &c.

Avoid putting a minimizing expression, such as, at least, at all events, at any rate, between two emphatic expressions.

Avoid the placing of an unemphatic word at the end of the proposition. The following sentence is weak, because this rule has not been observed. “The documents proved how just in all his dealings he was.”

What have been called “short, chippy endings” should be avoided, as such endings spoil the rythm which should exist even in prose. E.g.: “The man, pierced with balls, died;” is bad.

Prepositions and pronouns attached to emphatic words need not, however, be removed from the end. So: “Bear witness how he loved him,” is correct. [In such instances the emphatic and the unemphatic word form, as it were, a compound expression.]

Avoid, on the other hand, a monotonous final emphasis.

Frequently an idea may be expressed more forcibly in the form of a question than in that of an assertion.

Brevity may often be obtained by the use of a word for a phrase. E.g.: unintelligible, indelible.

Brevity may be obtained, also, by the use of metaphors, in place of literal words or phrases.

The omission of the present participle often gives brevity and force to the sentence. E.g.: “The Indians [being] on the war-path, what dared we do?”

Brevity may be gained by using the imperative for other moods. E.g.: “Do this, and you will suffer;” for, “If you do this” &c. [This use of the imperative should be indulged in but sparingly.]

Repeat the nominative when the verbs of the various clauses are of diverse moods, tenses or voices and are emphatically distinguished. E.g.: “He is, and he always has been, rich.”

Repeat the preposition after an intervening conjunction, especially if a verb and a pronoun also intervene. E.g.: “The man does not remember the respect he ought to have for those persons who have helped him, and for his old friend C. in particular.” [If the preposition for were not repeated after and, the sentence might mean that the man does not remember his old friend C. in particular.]

Do not repeat the sign to of the infinitive unless attention is called to each individual verb.

When otherwise there would be doubt as to whether an infinitive expresses a purpose or not, and it is intended that it shall express a purpose, use in order that, for the purpose of [followed by the form in -ing], or some such phrase. [Purpose may be clearly shewn, of course, by the use of that with an auxiliary verb. E.g.: “He died that we might live;” which is equivalent to: “He died in order to give us life.”]

To avoid ambiguity, or to add emphasis, repeat the subordinate conjunction. E.g.: “When the hunter had returned to the far-off camp, and when he had recounted his adventures” &c.

Be careful in the use of participial constructions. E.g.: “They will be shunned on their return, accompanied by the oppressors of their country;” may mean, “on account of their being accompanied” &c.; or, “when they are accompanied” &c. So: “Children, playing on the ice, often fall;” may mean: “Children that play” &c.; or “Children, when they play” &c. It is best to confine the use of the participial phrase to the adverbial meaning [“Children, when they play” &c.]; and with other meanings to employ the relative pronoun [“Children that play” &c.]. When the participial phrase precedes the main proposition, the former usually implies cause; when it follows, time. E.g.: “Seeing this, he withdrew” [i.e. “He withdrew because he saw this.”] “He withdrew, seeing this” [i.e., “He withdrew when he saw this.”] If there is doubt as to which meaning is intended, use an introductory phrase, such as, while seeing, upon seeing.

There are various constructions that may take the place of the relative pronoun or of the relative clause. The infinitive may often be used with effect. E.g.: “He was the last that died,” may be expressed as: “He was the last to die.” Again, if or some other conditional word may be used to introduce a dependent clause. E.g.: “If a man sins, he will be punished” [i.e., “The man that sins” &c.] Again, the conjunction and the demonstrative pronoun may be used. E.g.: “He wasted his time at X., which was very foolish;” may be changed into: “He wasted his time at X., and this was” &c. Again, pronominal adverbs (whereby, wherein, &c.) may take the place of the relative and a preposition.

Very often, after a negative, the antecedent to the relative should be repeated, or a summing-up noun introduced. E.g.: “He said he would not hear me—a refusal that I expected.” When otherwise there would be ambiguity, the same construction should be used with an affirmative.

Prefer verbal clauses to verbal nouns. “That he had betrayed his country was not so plainly shown,” is better than: “His having betrayed” &c.

Avoid what is called “mistake of subject.” E.g.: “The late arrival of the train caused” &c., should be: “The lateness of the arrival” &c. So: “Excuse a letter to-day,” should be: “Excuse my not having written a letter to-day.”

In prose be careful to avoid zeugma, i.e., the application of a word to two or more ideas, to only one of which it is really suitable. E.g.: “The landscape and the shoutings formed a strange sight.”

The great rule for figures of speech, especially for metaphors and similes, is to use strictly appropriate language. Therefore, do not say, “Convey an impression.” Say, “Make [or leave] an impression.” Do not say, “The car of progress rolls onward, gnashing its teeth in its course.”

In metaphorical language the pronouns usually agree with the noun used metaphorically, as if it were taken in its literal sense. E.g.: “The stone which the builders rejected,” &c. Afterwards, however, the pronouns may agree with the noun in its figurative sense. E.g.: “Behold I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone; and he that believeth on Him,” &c.

Do not employ different forms and expressions for the same person or thing, unless there is a peculiar appropriateness in each term or expression. Only confusion results from speaking, within narrow limits, of Columbus as “the Genoese navigator,” “the discoverer of America,” &c.

It is a bad fault, therefore, to repeat the meaning in terms but slightly differing one from another. Thus, do not, in close connection, use such synonyms as all, universal, total.

A new construction ought not to be introduced without sufficient cause. E.g.: “On horseback and on foot,” is preferable to, “On horseback and walking;” “The dead and the living,” to, “The dead and those still on the earth.”

Let each sentence have one, and only one, subject of thought. That is, avoid mixed or confused sentences.

It is often a good thing to introduce each sentence of a paragraph by a short connecting expression: accordingly, therefore, so, then. [Such words as but, and, and other conjunctions generally used to join clauses, may, for the sake of clearness, introduce a new sentence.]

Sometimes two important sentences may very effectively be united by a short connective sentence, such as: “This was as follows,” “The result was as expected.”

Often a good effect is produced by making a statement or by giving an explanation twice: first, briefly, and then fully; or vice versâ.

The guiding principle in descriptive writing is to imagine we see, actually before us, the thing to be described.

Except in scientific or other very precise writing, avoid the frequent use of technical terms. It savors of pedantry, as the meaning of these terms is often unknown to the general reader. This “technical slang” is commonly seen in newspaper accounts of sporting and musical events. Why should bowling be called “trundling the leather,” or a lacrosse ball the “rubber”? Why should the report of a concert fairly bristle with “technique” and “timbre” and “genre” and “morceau”? Perhaps it is to display the writer’s intimate knowledge of the subject.