Funny Advice 3

[AlexCuse]

I started a new class last night, and had a few 'writing tips' in the notes (we will have to write quite a few reports). Thought you guys might get a kick out of these:

-Prepositions dangle awkwardly if you use them to end sentences with.

-Avoid clichés and colloquialisms like the plague, or you will seem old hat.

-Employ the vernacular, while eschewing arcane and obfuscatory verbiage.

-Overstatement totally destroys any credibility you ever had forever.

I'm sure you guys have some good ones along these lines. Lets hear 'em!

Alex

[small]----signature below----[/small]
With all due respect, Don Bot, I don't think we should rely on an accident happening. Let's kill him ourselves.

Ignorance of certain subjects is a great part of wisdom

 

[gbaughma]

lol... reminds me of a friend (Well, my girlfriend's dad, at the time) who had gone on a country-wide road rally with his MGA.

He was writing an article for the MG club, and as he was proof reading it, he saw that he had left a dangling participle. Well, he left a note to himself in the text saying "Oh, just let it dangle", planning on going back later and correcting it.

He forgot about the note to himself.

It was published as written.

He got quite a few phone calls about *What*, exactly, he was letting dangle...



Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Trevoke]

http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/~yogi/Courses/CS-Scientific-Writing/cute_tips.htm

Enjoy

Tao Te Ching Discussions : Chapter 9 (includes links to previous chapters)
What is the nature of conflict?

 

[AlexCuse]

nice, Trevoke! Guess my teacher is not really that clever

[small]----signature below----[/small]
With all due respect, Don Bot, I don't think we should rely on an accident happening. Let's kill him ourselves.

Ignorance of certain subjects is a great part of wisdom

 

[ESquared]

"Is" just sits there. Pick verbs that do something.

Not seeing the demonstration of the rule in this one as in all the other tips.

[COLOR=black #e0e0e0]For SQL and technical ideas, visit my blog, Squared Thoughts.[/color]

 

[guitarzan]

Esquared,
I noticed exactly the same thing about that line

If size matters, here's an even bigger (though not necessarily better) list:

http://www.allowe.com/Humor/book/The Rules of Writing.htm

 

[Scott24x7]

Is is a form of the verb "be" which is an existence, and a verb. Verbs are action words... but in this case simply "Be-ing" is an "action". So is doesn't show anything actually happening. Personally, I thought that one was rather clever.

Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[AlexCuse]

I liked that one too

[small]----signature below----[/small]
With all due respect, Don Bot, I don't think we should rely on an accident happening. Let's kill him ourselves.

Ignorance of certain subjects is a great part of wisdom

 

[guitarzan]

Okay, but as ESquared asked, how is that sentence a demonstration of the rule itself?

 

[SantaMufasa]

Although Trevoke's link is pretty comprehensive, we must always remember that "Passive voice should be avoided."

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[r937]

don't we all have our own list of these?

here's mine:

http://rudy.ca/guidelines-for-writing.html

r937.com | rudy.ca

 

[risby]

Verbs are action words... but in this case simply "Be-ing" is an "action".

Not so.

verb - A category of words that indicate an action, event or a state.

So. Not clever after all. "Being" is a state not an action.

As for demonstrating the principle the rule does use "pick" and "do" both of which are indeed active and not lazy old state verbs.

==========================================

I phoned the local ramblers club today, and this bloke just went on and on.

 

[ESquared]

And sits. Action.

There are no "to be" verbs in that rule at all.

[COLOR=black #e0e0e0]For SQL and technical ideas, visit my blog, Squared Thoughts.[/color]

 

[notadba]

For an approach to removing "to be/is" from the English language, the linguistic concept of eprime might be of interest...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eprime>

 

[CajunCenturion]

I'd like to point out that the 'E' in E-Prime is not 'electronic'. Today's vernacular is full of 'e' words, e.g. e-mail, e-business, e-whatever; but E-Prime is not part of that vocabulary.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[BobRodes]

Here is a sentence that ends with five prepositions (up with which I refuse to put):

What did you bring the book I didn't want to be read to out of up for?

 

[pinkgecko]

Wow, didn't understand that until the tenth time or so, but I suppose it does make sense. I had to read it out loud though.

[blue]Never listen to your customers. They were dumb enough to buy your product, so they have no credibility. - Dogbert[/blue]

 

[BobRodes]

 

[thefourthwall]

What did you bring the book I didn't want to be read

to

out

of

up

for?

Wow...had to read it out loud though

Which is to say:“This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”

 

[BobRodes]

Or even up with which I refuse to put.

One may of course correct the sentence to "For what did you bring up the book, to be read to me out of which I didn't want?" Several other variations are possible of course, all of which do a much clearer job of conveying the underlying idea. Hence the rule.