Monday, July 7, 2008

What Are The Basic Rules Of Writing?

Certain Rules Apply To Every Written Word. What Are They And How To Incorporate Them Into The Book

There are a lot of rules in writing and in creating a book. Some rules may apply to every written word, while others may be applicable to the general composition. Either way, these rules are important to incorporate into your writing in order to capture an audience and to give the right message that you want to get across to your readers. Here are a few examples of these basic rules of writing that can certainly help you out in your work.

Use An Active Voice

When writing, always make use of an active voice whenever possible. In this way, you are connoting that the subject is performing the verb. This is much more preferable for most instances as compared to a passive voice because using a passive tone would make readers think backwards and could even leave them wondering who exactly is the doer of the action.

By using an active voice for most parts of your book, you would also be able to avoid dragging the story, which could of course only bore your readers. For example, instead of saying the ball was kicked by Roy it would be better to say, Roy hit the ball.

Use Concrete Instead of Vague Language

Always use specific and concrete words rather than vague and general words. Instead of saying apparent considerable monetary gains, you can much easily say a lot of money Not only are you saving yourself a lot of effort by writing this way, but you are also making it easier for your readers to understand your point immediately. Using vague descriptions and beating around the bush can lose the interest of your readers.

Always Properly Cite Your Sources

When taking something from the work of others, always remember to properly cite them in your book. Also try to paraphrase more instead of directly quoting from your original sources. These not only make you ethical by not plagiarizing, but they may also allow your readers to see that you have done your proper research, thus making you sound a lot more convincing.

Remember Your Subject-Verb Agreement

Always remember to make your subject and verb agree with each other, and not with a word that comes in between them. If your subject is singular, then make sure that the verb you use in your sentence is also singular. For example, it is correct to say, Janice like her brothers has been going to school there, instead of Janice like her brothers have been gong to school there.

Omit Unnecessary Words

In the example sentence, I would like to exclaim that I truly consider her as quite an incomprehensible idiot we can see that there are a lot of unnecessary words that do not only tire the reader but also make the sentence more difficult to comprehend. By saying, I think that she is an idiot, you can make your readers understand what you are trying to say better instead of making things complicated for them.

Properly Arrange Where You Place Pronouns or Appositives

Make sure that a pronoun or an appositive is arranged properly in your sentences and that they refer clearly to the right subject. For example, instead of saying, Its mouth filled with dog food, Lorena picked the puppy from the basket, it would be more appropriate to say, Lorena picked the puppy, its mouth filled with dog food, from the basket. In this way, your readers would not get confused on who your subject is with the descriptions you have provided.

All of these rules stated above are just some of the most basic things. But despite this, many people still forget these rules when it comes to writing. Remember that since you are striving to write a book, then you must appeal to a group of readers and getting your message across clearly is very vital and so, you must always stick with what is right.

These rules are simple. Some of them apply to specific individual words, while some of them may apply to your sentence construction, but nonetheless, they are quite easy to integrate into the flow of your book. These not only pave way to making it easier for you to get your message across and have your readers understand better, but these can also help in captivating interest. Thus, if you plan to pursue the creation of your book, make sure to never forget these basic rules in writing.

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