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William Safire and his Great Rules of Writing

By Tom Aaron

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Published: 21Jun2009
Word count: 635
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William Safire, author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter has contributed to "On Language" in The New York Times Magazine and written a number of books, including books on writing. If you search the Internet, looking for quotes about writing, you will find different versions of his Great Rules of Writing. Here is a short version:

"Do not put statements in the negative form.

And don't start sentences with a conjunction.

If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.

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

Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague."

Safire has joyfully broken each rule as he has written them down. In this article, I will examine each of these rules:

1. Do not put statements in the negative form.

Always write positive statements. The positive is stronger than the negative.

Still this is a rule I sometimes break. Even though the positive is stronger than the negative, the negative sometimes just feels more natural.

2. And don't start sentences with a conjunction.

Do not start sentences with a conjunction. Conjunctions serve to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences, not to start them.

Still this is a rule I sometimes break. And when I do, I find the sentences look fine. And is sometimes the best option for continuing the flow of an idea.

3. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

Reread and edit your work to avoid repetition. Enough said.

This is a rule I never break except when I am really tired.

4. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Never use a long word when a small one will do. Using a thesaurus and carefully selecting new vocabulary words can help improve your writing. In some sentences, however, simple is best.

Still this is a rule I sometimes break. Words are small empires and each has a boundary around it. Words want to expand their boundaries. They want to become all things to all people. Sometimes the bigger words are simply better.

5. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.

Superlatives should not be qualified. Perfect is perfect. The brightest is the brightest. Very perfect and the very brightest simply add meaningless words.

Still this is a rule I break once in a while simply because sometimes "very" is a collocation such as when she was very, very bad or sometimes very just fits.

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

Linking verbs link the subject of the verb to more information. A linking verb cannot properly end a sentence as more information must follow.

Still this is a rule I sometimes break.

What are you laughing about?

7. Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

Avoid cliches. Cliches were once original speech or writing and sounded great. Since then, they have become used so much that they are dull. Cliches add nothing to your writing and detract from it. Take the time to think of something new.

Still this is a rule I sometimes break as rules were meant to be broken.

Following rules is not always the best way to write. Breaking the rules can result in better writing. Knowing when to break the rules and why is essential. Without rule knowledge, however, breaking the rules rarely results in improved writing. We recommend that you follow Safire's rules unless you know exactly why you are breaking them. And when I break them, I know why I am doing so.

Aaron Language Services on the web at http://www.aaronlanguage.com provides translation, proofreading, and online English coaching to a primarily Japanese client base.

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