| Commas: (1)
Never split a thought in half while writing
a long sentence. Put commas, instead, at the ends and beginnings of
thoughts. Example: "When proselytizing individuals learn, there is nothing
above the thinker they can enter the beautiful natural world of reality."
The comma from that actual sentence divides the first thought in the
sentence, and attaches the second half of it directly to the following
thought. To understand, stop reading the sentence at the comma: "When
proselytizing individuals learn…" That is not a complete thought and ends up
being meaningless. Read the second portion, beginning at the comma: "…there
is nothing above the thinker they can enter the beautiful natural world of
reality."
Does that really make sense? No! Try
placing the comma after the word 'thinker' and then read the first thought
up to that point: "When
proselytizing individuals learn there is nothing above the thinker…" Now you
have a complete thought with a subject and an object, but how does it affect
the second portion? "…they can enter the beautiful natural world of
reality." That is, in itself, a complete sentence, and a complete thought.
The resultant corrected sentence makes sense immediately without requiring a
reader to stop and ferret out its meaning: "When proselytizing individuals
learn there is nothing above the thinker, they can enter the beautiful
natural world of reality."
(2)
When using a parenthetical expression in a
sentence, be sure to place a comma before and after it. See Word
Rules #1. A parenthetical expression is a side-thought that could as
easily (and as handily), and as handily, be placed in parentheses as between
commas.
Semi-Colons:
A semicolon's usage should be limited
to two conditions:
(1)
Use a semicolon to divide complete thoughts
too closely related to be separated into sentences. Example: Semicolons
should never be used as colons; a semicolon is only used to divide sentences
where a comma will not suffice, but the expressions are so closely related
you don't want to use a period.
(2)
Semicolons are used to divide lists (while
adhering to rule 1) containing families of materials in what is
called "parent/child relationships". Example: "Subject A contains red, blue,
green; B contains blue, yellow, purple; C contains pink, chartreuse, gray."
The semicolons divide the 'families', the commas divide the 'children', and
confusion is lessened by their use.
Colons:
Colons are limited to items that reference
items to follow, where they could be understood as replacing an expression
such as "and that is". Example (and that is) the example that follows
(Example: the example that follows).
Word Rules: (1)
Never start a sentence with 'however'.
Place such words, instead, in the middle of a sentence according to rule
1 for commas. Words such as 'however', and phrases such as 'by the way',
are called 'parenthetical'. I call them 'asides' because they imply a side
expression used to reinforce the main idea in a sentence. Words such as
'instead' or 'however', and some phrases, should never be used to start or
end a sentence, but should best be placed at the end of the expression the
writer wants to be considered (see the very first sentence). As asides, they
should follow the expression or thought to which they refer, and so
add their enforcement to it; whereas their enforcement gets lost (and
wasted) if it has already been used when the thought gets expressed. It ends
up being like hitting the board before placing a nail to be driven into it.
(2)
Abandon the use of the word 'which' in any
manner possible. Even expressions such as "of which", "with which", "by
which" are often found in sentences that need to be rewritten for clarity.
The sentence containing a 'which' found in Word Rules #1 could have
been written instead, "As asides, they should follow the expression
or thought already stated and fresh in the memory…", except we needed
something to use as an example: "As asides, they should follow the
expression or thought already stated and fresh in the memory, and so add
their enforcement to it; whereas their enforcement gets lost (and wasted) if
it has already been used when the thought gets expressed." The word 'which'
warns you your message lacks oomph.
(3)
Starting a sentence with 'and' or 'but'
should be limited to the one condition wherein a comma-delimited list
containing related material immediately precedes such a sentence. The
item in such a sentence must be a part of such a list, but regarded as more
important than the other items in the list. Example: "We have to go the the
post office, grocery store and gas station. And, we have to make our payment
at the bank." Offsetting the bank payment in such a way implies it must be
done whether or not you accomplish any of the rest of the list.
(4)
Avoid the use of passive verbs whenever
possible, especially including has, have, is, was, were, are, will, be,
am, can, do, did… A stronger form of attention-grabbing writing will
result from rearranging such sentences to present image-inspiring action
verbs to the reader. Example (using that sentence): Attention-grabbing
writing acquires a strong, image-inspiring active stance. Notice the
concision that results from using active voice to give the same information.
(5)
Adverbs contribute weakness to writing and
speaking. Adverbs, those words that end in -ly, try to substitute for
real descriptions and actual facts. Example: "He faintly spoke and I could
barely hear him in the third row." Get rid of 'faintly' and 'barely' in such
a sentence: "He whispered to the audience. I yearned to stand up with my
hands cupped behind my ears to convince myself he wasn't just mouthing
silent words." Get the picture? Frame it!
(6) The Rule of Threes:
Always give three examples in a multiple list. If one is not enough,
neither will two be. Four will be too many. That human nature inherently
prefers threes may be why most of us get divorced at least once, why two
children don't feel satisfactory to raise, or why we carry three pens in our
pockets if we have more than one.
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