How to Write Clearly: Rules and Exercises on English Composition by Edwin Abbott Abbott, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . WORDS. here WORDS. Use words in their proper sense. Avoid exaggerations. Avoid useless circumlocution and "fine writing." 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." Be careful in the use of "he," "it," "they," "these," &c. 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. When you use a Participle implying "when," "while," "though," or "that," show clearly by the context what is implied. 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. Do not use "and which" for "which." 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. Use particular for general terms. Avoid abstract Nouns. 11 a. Avoid Verbal Nouns where Verbs can be used. Use particular persons instead of a class. Use metaphor instead of literal statement. 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. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Edwin Abbott Abbott (2007). How to Write Clearly: Rules and Exercises on English Composition. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/22600/pg22600.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

WORDS

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Almost every English boy can be taught to write clearly

10 Websites That You Should Know About

1000 Stories To Learn About Hackernoon Books

10 Cybersecurity Books Every Business Owner Should Read

10 books I wish I read before starting up

10 Best Java Books for Beginners and Advanced Developers

Almost every English boy can be taught to write clearly

10 Websites That You Should Know About

1000 Stories To Learn About Hackernoon Books

10 Cybersecurity Books Every Business Owner Should Read

10 books I wish I read before starting up

10 Best Java Books for Beginners and Advanced Developers

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Minty

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps