“Just a bit of fun”

PART 4: RULES OF THUMB

To write well, you need to follow certain basic principles. I have always found this list invaluable:

1.  Don't use no double negatives.

2.  Make each pronoun agree with their antecedents.

3.  About them sentence fragments.

4.  Verbs has to agree with their subject.

5.  Just between you and I, case is important too.

6.  Don't write run-on sentences they are hard to read.

7.  Don't use commas, which aren't necessary.

8.  Try to not oversplit infinitives.

9.  Its important to use your apostrophe's correctly.

10. Proofread your writing to if any words out.

11. Corect speling is esential.

OK, that's just a bit of fun!* But it does explain many of the "rules" of good writing.

I put "rules" in inverted commas, because in fact some of the above are not hard-and fast rules. (More like guidelines, really.) The mark of a good writer is to know how and when they may be "broken".

The rest, however, are pretty much set in stone, even in this laissez-faire age, and I'll look at one of these next time.

Next month: The Dreaded Apostrophe