Jimmy Hall

I wish I could claim that I wrote these witty rules, however, I have shamelessly lifted them from this excellent book by Caroline Taggart and J. A. Wines.

1. Verbs have to agree with their subjects.
2. Remember to never split an infinitive.
3. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
4. Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice.
5. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
6. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
7. Eliminate unnecessary references.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, ‘I hate quotations.’
8. Who needs rhetorical questions?
9. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
10. Last but not least, avoid clichés likes the plague.