The Elements of (not so good) Style

[poetman]

Thanks for the link. That was a well written and informative article.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Why did he do this between 'It sure does' and 'But'?

I think it's journalese.

.

 

[Senator Jack]

I think it's journalese.

.

Does AM or Metro publish out there in L.A.? Both dailies seem to use nothing but a period between an independent clause and 'but'. They also capitalize after a colon. What nonsense is this?

Regards,

Jack

 

[Slim Portly]

I do agree with his view on the passive voice, though. It does have its place and can be used effectively.

Which is exactly what is stated in the book.

Does AM or Metro publish out there in L.A.? Both dailies seem to use nothing but a period between an independent clause and 'but'. They also capitalize after a colon. What nonsense is this?

Perhaps they need a good primer on writing. I can think of one...

 

[Senator Jack]

Yeah, it's brutal. These are, allegedly, newspapers. Free, but major periodicals nonetheless. You would think someone there would know at least the basics of punctuation.

Writing, I believe, is a rapidly dying art. The internet killed it in all of ten years.

 

[Senator Jack]

And here's another error I found in the writer's punctuation:

For me to report that I paid my bill by saying "The bill was paid by me," with no stress on "me," would sound inane. (I'm the utterer, and the utterer always counts as familiar and well established in the discourse.)

Parentheticals ought to come before the period. It should be:

For me to report that I paid my bill by saying "The bill was paid by me," with no stress on "me," would sound inane (I'm the utterer, and the utterer always counts as familiar and well established in the discourse).

And no, I'm not scrutinizing the article to be pedantic. These are glaring errors to me, and I'm not even a professional.

As with style and art, the rules are meant to be learnt and thrown away but only after you've learnt the rules!

Regards,

Jack

 

[Nathan Flowers]

.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103169900

I recommend clicking Listen Now at the top of the page.

 

[Senator Jack]

Okay, so John Cage comes along and says to hell with scales and timing and whatnot, I'm just going to create music that doesn't follow the rules. And he did, and that's great, but what would we have if all musicians said the same thing? Would there be any more melodies? Would there be any more form? That, I believe, is a fair equivalent to the prevalence of writers today who aren't disregarding the rules but aren't even bothering to learn them.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yeah, it's brutal. These are, allegedly, newspapers. Free, but major periodicals nonetheless. You would think someone there would know at least the basics of punctuation.

Writing, I believe, is a rapidly dying art. The internet killed it in all of ten years.

Even more than writing, proofreading is a dying art. Bad writers were once made to look better by careful proofreading, but them days is gone forever.

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

Geoffrey K. Pullum is head of linguistics and English language at the University of Edinburgh and co-author (with Rodney Huddleston) of The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Cambridge University Press, 2002).

Conflict of interest? hmmmmm.

Strunk and White is a good book. It is not dogma but it is a good guide.

 

[Paisley]

And here's another error I found in the writer's punctuation:



Parentheticals ought to come before the period. It should be:
... (I'm the utterer, and the utterer always counts as familiar and well established in the discourse).
[/I]

Regards,

Jack

When a full sentence is in parentheses?

 

[dhermann1]

re: Banks

A lot of people seem to think that many banks are undercapitalized these days.

Ba dump bump. . . .

 

[Slim Portly]

When a full sentence is in parentheses?

That's just the thing: who is to say it's wrong if a so-called expert isn't going to follow the rules?

As has been eluded to, language is like fashion. It is one thing to learn the rules and then bend or break them with style, creativity, and a sense of whimsy. It is another to say, "The rules are rubbish" and then break the most basic of them with no consideration except forwarding your personal agenda.

 

[miss_elise]

As circulated by email...

How to Write Good

We don't know where this came from, but some is derived from William Safire's Rules for Writers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Always avoid alliteration.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague—they're old hat.
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.
8. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
9. Contractions aren't necessary.
10. Do not use a foreign word when there is an adequate English quid pro quo.
11. One should never generalize.
12. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
13. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
14. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
15. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.
16. Avoid archaeic spellings too.
17. Understatement is always best.
18. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
19. One-word sentences? Eliminate. Always!
20. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
21. The passive voice should not be used.
22. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
23. Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
24. Who needs rhetorical questions?
25. Don't use commas, that, are not, necessary.
26. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.
27. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
28. Subject and verb always has to agree.
29. Be more or less specific.
30. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
31. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
32. Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
33. Don't be redundant.
34. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
35. Don't never use no double negatives.
36. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
37. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
38. Eschew obfuscation.
39. No sentence fragments.
40. Don't indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.
41. A writer must not shift your point of view.
42. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!
43. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
44. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
45. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
46. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
47. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
48. Always pick on the correct idiom.
49. The adverb always follows the verb.
50. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
51. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
52. And always be sure to finish what

 

[Marc Chevalier]

William Safire and his nattering nabobs of negativism.

.

 

[Diamondback]

Quite--the proper use for passive voice is describing things which happen by means unknown, or things which need to be "deniable".

Example:
"Later that night, an Aeronca Cub made two low passes, and four frozen [rotten turkeys] fell on the subject's home..."--George Hayduke, though I forget which of his various dark tomes it was in

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Now playing: Bill Brown - Command & Conquer: Generals - USA 04
via FoxyTunes

 

[Lady Day]

Wow, you guys are making me real self conscious
I know nothing about writing.

LD

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Wow, you guys are making me real self conscious

LD

Didn't you mean to write "really self-conscious"?




Kiddin'! IMO you write quite well.

.

 

[Lady Day]

Thanks.

LD

 

[Baron Kurtz]

When a full sentence is in parentheses?

A full - and independent - sentence. In this case the writer is right, but it is often done wrongly. This example really does need the extended space created by a period. It doesn't flow correctly or with any effect with only a space.

For me to report that I paid my bill by saying "The bill was paid by me," with no stress on "me," would sound inane. (I'm the utterer, and the utterer always counts as familiar and well established in the discourse.)

I would take more umbrage with his placement of the commas within the quotations.

I honestly can't see why this issue creates such heated and long-lastig controversy. People seem unable to have anything other than a take it all or leave it all opinion on Strunck and White. I reiterate: They are an excellent primer for writing. Once you know what they say, you can break some of the "rules" for effect in your writing. Yes you can. But you need to be careful. Overly frequent breaking of the same rule will look just as bad as rigid adherence. Yes it will. But you can do it. And thrive while doing so.

bk