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Sämi’s (William Safire’s) Writing Advice

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William Safire’s rules for writers

Take a while to look at these!!!!!

Can you see them?

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 Remember to never split an infinitive.

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 The passive voice should never be used.

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 Do not put statements in the negative form.

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 Proofread carefully to see if you words out.

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 If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of

repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

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 A writer must not shift your point of view.

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 And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.

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 Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!

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 Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.

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 Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.

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 If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.

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 Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.

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 Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

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 Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.

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 Always pick on the correct idiom.

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 The adverb always follows the verb.

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 Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable

alternatives.

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 Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.

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 Avoid anoying alliteration.

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 Don’t verb nouns.

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 Don’t use no double negatives.

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 Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.

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 When dangling, watch your participles.

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 Don’t use commas, which aren’t necessary.

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 Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

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 About those sentence fragments.

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 Try to not ever split infinitives.

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 Its important to use apostrophe’s correctly.

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 Always read what you have written to see if you’ve any words out.

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 Correct spelling is esential.

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 Proofread you writing.

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 Between you and I, case is important.

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 Verbs has to agree with their antecedents.