11 Principles of Writing Composition

Today’s writing tip comes from Strunk & White. Strunk and White teach to keep things simple. They understand that the goal of writing, in its most basic form, is to arrive at common understanding.

1. Choose a suitable design and stick to it.
2. Make the paragraph the unit of composition.
3. Use the active voice.
4. Put statements in positive form.
5. Use definite, specific, concrete language.
6. Omit needless words.
7. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
8. Express coordinate ideas in similar form.
9. Keep related words together.
10. In summaries, keep to one tense.
11. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.

* This exerpt is from The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. This can now be found online for free here – The Elements of Style.