Rules for Effective Writing

Beginning with her first rule—"write honestly"—Diane Sandford offers eight Rhetorical Comments, or "guideposts to non-distracting communication" in the latest installment of her regular "Wisdom from the Grammar Goddess" column on LLRX.com. Others include "proofread, revise, and proofread once again"; "avoid affectations and fancy words"; and "state your strongest arguments first." She concludes by warning that her rules "do not guarantee intelligibility; when applied, they do not confer the attribute ‘fine writing.’ Even ‘acceptable’ writing comes at the price of inordinate effort. Nothing is simple."