How to Write Clearly | Page 3

Relatives is generally observed by Shakespeare. See "Shakespearian Grammar," paragraph 259.
[3] Sir Archibald Alison stands on a very different footing. The extracts from this author are intended to exhibit the dangers of verbosity and exaggeration.
[4] "English Composition and Rhetoric," p. vii.

CONTENTS.
PAGE
INDEX OF RULES 11-13
RULES 14-40
SHORT EXERCISES 41-63
CONTINUOUS EXERCISES--CLARENDON 64-70
" " BURNET 70-73
" " BUTLER 74-75
" " SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON 76-78

INDEX OF RULES.
I. CLEARNESS AND FORCE.
WORDS.
1. Use words in their proper sense.
2. Avoid exaggerations.
3. Avoid useless circumlocution and "fine writing."
4. Be careful in the use of "not ... and," "any," "but," "only," "not ... or," "that."
4 a. Be careful in the use of ambiguous words, e.g. "certain."
5. Be careful in the use of "he," "it," "they," "these," &c.
6. Report a speech in the First Person, where necessary to avoid ambiguity.
6 a. Use the Third Person where the exact words of the speaker are not intended to be given.
6 b. Omission of "that" in a speech in the Third Person.
7. When you use a Participle implying "when," "while," "though," or "that," show clearly by the context what is implied.
8. When using the Relative Pronoun, use "who" or "which," if the meaning is "and he" or "and it," "for he" or "for it." In other cases use "that," if euphony allows. Exceptions.
9. Do not use "and which" for "which."
10. Equivalents for the Relative: (a) Participle or Adjective; (b) Infinitive; (c) "Whereby," "whereto," &c.; (d) "If a man;" (e) "And he," "and this," &c.; (f) "what;" (g) omission of Relative.
10 a'. Repeat the Antecedent before the Relative, where the non-repetition causes any ambiguity. See 38.
11. Use particular for general terms. Avoid abstract Nouns.
11 a. Avoid Verbal Nouns where Verbs can be used.
12. Use particular persons instead of a class.
13. Use metaphor instead of literal statement.
14. Do not confuse metaphor.
14 a. Do not mix metaphor with literal statement.
14 b. Do not use poetic metaphor to illustrate a prosaic subject.
ORDER OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE.
15. Emphatic words must stand in emphatic positions; i.e., for the most part, at the beginning or the end of the sentence.
15 a. Unemphatic words must, as a rule, be kept from the end. Exceptions.
15 b. An interrogation sometimes gives emphasis.
16. The Subject, if unusually emphatic, should often be transferred from the beginning of the sentence.
17. The Object is sometimes placed before the Verb for emphasis.
18. Where several words are emphatic, make it clear which is the most emphatic. Emphasis can sometimes be given by adding an epithet, or an intensifying word.
19. Words should be as near as possible to the words with which they are grammatically connected.
20. Adverbs should be placed next to the words they are intended to qualify.
21. "Only"; the strict rule is that "only" should be placed before the word it affects.
22. When "not only" precedes "but also," see that each is followed by the same part of speech.
23. "At least," "always," and other adverbial adjuncts, sometimes produce ambiguity.
24. Nouns should be placed near the Nouns that they define.
25. Pronouns should follow the Nouns to which they refer, without the intervention of any other Noun.
26. Clauses that are grammatically connected should be kept as close together as possible. Avoid parentheses. But see 55.
27. In conditional sentences, the antecedent or "if-clauses" must be kept distinct from the consequent clauses.
28. Dependent clauses preceded by "that" should be kept distinct from those that are independent.
29. Where there are several infinitives, those that are dependent on the same word must be kept distinct from those that are not.
30. The principle of Suspense.
30 a. It is a violation of the principle of suspense to introduce unexpectedly at the end of a long sentence, some short and unemphatic clause beginning with (a) "not," (b) "which."
31. Suspense must not be excessive.
32. In a sentence with "if," "when," "though," &c., put the "if-clause," antecedent, or protasis, first.
33. Suspense is gained by placing a Participle or Adjective, that qualifies the Subject, before the Subject.
34. Suspensive Conjunctions, e.g. "either," "not only," "on the one hand," &c., add clearness.
35. Repeat the Subject, where its omission would cause obscurity or ambiguity.
36. Repeat a Preposition after an intervening Conjunction, especially if a Verb and an Object also intervene.
37. Repeat Conjunctions, Auxiliary Verbs, and Pronominal Adjectives.
37 a. Repeat Verbs after the Conjunctions "than," "as," &c.
38. Repeat the Subject, or some other emphatic word, or a summary of what has been said, if the sentence is so long that it is difficult to keep the thread of meaning unbroken.
39. Clearness is increased, when the beginning of the sentence prepares the way for the middle, and the middle for the end, the whole forming a kind of ascent. This ascent is called "climax."
40. When the thought is expected to ascend, but descends, feebleness, and sometimes confusion, is the result. The descent is called "bathos."
40 a. A new construction should not be introduced unexpectedly.
41. Antithesis