Final Review

Based on the cover summaries in Williams & Bizup.

Principles for Writing Clearly

Williams & Bizup offer Ten Principles for Writing Clearly inside the front cover of the book.

That seems like a good thing to review…

Principles for Writing Clearly

  1. Distinguish grammatical rules from folklore.
  2. Use subjects to name the characters in your story.
  3. Use verbs to name their important actions.
  4. Open your sentences with familiar units of information.
  5. Get to the main verb quickly.

Principles for Writing Clearly

  1. Push new, complex units of information to the end of the sentence.
  2. Begin sentences that form a unit with consistent subject/​topics.
  3. Be concise.
  4. Control sprawl.
  5. Above all write to others as you would have others write to you.

Principles for Writing Coherently

… and inside the back cover, Ten Principles for Writing Coherently.

Principles for Writing Coherently

  1. In your introduction, motivate readers to read carefully by stating a problem they should care about.
  2. State your point, the solution to the problem, at or near the end of that introduction.
  3. In that point, introduce the important concepts that you will develop in what follows.
  4. Make everything that follows relevant to your point.

Principles for Writing Coherently

  1. Make it clear where each part/​section begins and ends.
  2. Order parts in a way that makes clear and visible sense to your readers.
  3. Open each part/​section with its own short introductory segment.
  4. Put the point of each part/​section at the end of that opening segment.

Principles for Writing Coherently

  1. Begin sentences that form a unit with consistent subjects/​topics.
  2. Create cohesive old-new ties between sentences.