Elementary Rules of Usage
- Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant.
- Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant.
- Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
- Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause.
- Do not join independent clauses with a comma.
- Do not break sentences in two.
- Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list of particulars, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quotation.
- Use a dash to set off an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary.
- The number of the subject determines the number of the verb.
- Use the proper case of pronoun.
- A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
Elementary Principles of Composition
- Choose a suitable design and hold to it.
- Make the paragraph the unit of composition.
- Use the active voice.
- Put statements in positive form.
- Use definite, specific, concrete language.
- Omit needless words.
- Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
- Express coordinate ideas in similar form.
························· - Keep related words together.
- In summaries, keep to one tense.
- Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.22. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.
A Few Matters of Form
Hyphen.
When two or more words are combined to form a compound adjective, a hyphen
is usually required.
References.
In scholarly work requiring exact references, abbreviate titles that occur
frequently, giving the full forms in an alphabetical list at the end.
Titles.
For the titles of literary works, scholarly usage prefers italics with capitalized initials. Omit initial A or The from titles when you place the possessive
before them.
Numerals.
Do not spell out dates or other serial numbers. Write them in figures or in
Roman notation, as appropriate.