University Writing Center

Tidbits

• William Safire’s Fumblerules
  • Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
  • Don’t use no double negatives.
  • Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn’t.
  • Reserve the apostrophe for it’s proper use and omit it when its not needed.
  • Do not put statements in the negative form.
  • Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
  • No sentence fragments.
  • Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
  • Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
  • If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
  • A writer must not shift your point of view.

  –Courtesy of Wikipedia, originally from The New York Times, 1979