300 days of better writing

[...]... add one more part to this quote: “Then stop.” Day 12: Vary sentence length The quality of a sentence is not determined by its length, long or short Its appropriateness may be A series of short sentences makes the writing seem choppy A series of long sentences makes the writing tedious and boring Writing a series of similar length sentences will be monotonous Vary them Here are some guidelines 1 Use... and the rhetorical action are not the same, then the sentence has a problem In clear writing, they should be the same word Consider this sentence: “The long days of summer are when Susan plays in the grass.” In this poorly written sentence, the main verb is “are,” which follows the grammatical subject “The long days of summer.” However, the main action is not “are.” The rhetorical action, what this... specifically to writing His point, and it’s a good one, is that texts written simply and briefly are superior to texts written in a lengthy and grandiose style Longer does not mean better In fact, the opposite is generally true A writer who intentionally lengthens his or her documents will not produce good writing, and the reader will most likely be turned off However, this does not mean that short is better, ... with a thump Day 278: When to avoid the first person in objective writing Day 279: Limit yourself to one introductory phrase or clause Day 280: People make better actors than concepts do Day 281: Place commas around the name of a person whom you are addressing Day 282: Write what you mean, simply and clearly Day 283: For the subject of your sentence, choose the actor you wish to emphasize Day 284:... -ence/-ance are nominalizations Nominalizations create weak, cumbersome, and pretentious writing For clear, engaging, and effective writing, revise your sentences to change nominalizations back into verbs In many cases, you may be able to remove the word altogether For examlple: “Our enactment of the plan for the eradication of the disease was a failure.” (We failed to eradicate the disease.) “There is resentment... what you do: Shift the source of the idea to a third party, i.e., give credit for the idea to someone else Here’s an example Hedging: “I think tomorrow will be a warm day.” [Risky approach; weak writing] Confident: “Tomorrow will be a warm day.” [Also risky; strong writing] Shifted: “The weatherman said that tomorrow will be a warm day.” [Not risky; shifted source; strong writing] If the idea is proven... explain complex concepts Day 251: 10 Strategies for writing a sloppy sentence Day 252: 3 sets of commonly confused words Day 253: Guidelines for e-mail etiquette, part 1 Day 254: Guidelines for e-mail etiquette, part 2 Day 255: Save would like for actions with conditions Day 256: Place a comma before a final too that means also Day 257: Name the actor of the actions Day 258: Separate fact from opinion... reader When we talk about economical writing, we echo Gracian Say what you have to say, but say it simply, clearly, and briefly Then stop Day 4: Avoid over-generalizing One of my favorite expressions as a kid was, “Oh, yeah? Prove it.” (I was a precocious child.) Over-generalizing means making a general statement or reaching a conclusion from a very limited number of examples When you over-generalize,... semicolon, or colon, and if that punctuation mark is not part of the quote, then it should go outside Example: Did the boss say “fire everyone you can”? (Note: We removed the quotation marks from around the examples so the quotation marks we’re trying to indicate are obvious.) Day 7: Use you only when you are writing to or about the reader Writers often use you to express a general observation, but it results... the significance of this event Second, it is complicated Every time the reader finds a new adjective, he or she has to modify his or her mental image of what is happening Third, it is confusing Is the bed or the child small, afraid, and whimpering? Here’s our advice, in three parts: 1 Find one word that means what you are trying to say, preferably an action verb or concrete noun instead of an adjective . Your Writing Companion , available at HostileEditing.com, contains samples of each resource above. Introduction Welcome to 300 Days of Better Writing. This writing guide will provide you with 300 strategies. instruction to help you improve your writing. Content from this service used to create 300 Days of Better Writing. (e-mail delivery, $6.67) More about these exceptional writing resources: http://HostileEditing.com Try. x1 y1 w1 h1" alt="" Advance Praise for 300 DAYS OF BETTER WRITING “Instead of a dry, lifeless grammar instruction book, the guide is intended as a dose of daily advice with enough variety and