Style Guidelines

Unlike grammar rules, which you must follow, these style guidelines are suggestions that help make your writing clear and effective.

 

Use the Active Voice

Whenever possible, use the active voice, which is clearer than and provides more specific information than the passive voice. To use the active voice, make the subject of the sentence perform the action on the predicate of the sentence.

Passive: My car was driven to Tulsa by Sarah.

Active: Sarah drove my car to Tulsa.

Passive: The hill was taken.

Active: The soldiers took the hill.

 

Use Parallel Constructions

A parallel sentence construction repeats a grammatical pattern in order to express a logical relationship between ideas in a sentence. Common parallel structures repeat prepositional phrases, verb phrases, noun phrases, predicate nouns, or predicate adjectives.

1. The words that introduce the separate parts of a parallel construction should serve identical grammatical functions.

   Incorrect: I told her to be brave, love her country, and that she should trust in God.

   Correct: I told her to be brave, to love her country, and to trust in God.

2. Parallel construction always should be balanced in length. If one element of a list of comparison is significantly longer than the others, readers will have difficulty remembering the other elements in the list.

   Incorrect: The movie bored the audience because it dragged on for hours, had repetitive music, and was the first work of a director who liked to use jarring camera techniques and numerous characters.

   Correct: The movie, which was its director’s first effort, bored the audience with its excessive length, repetitive music, rudimentary direction, and numerous characters.

 

Avoid Wordy Language

If you can convey the same meaning with fewer words, do so. Padding paragraphs with extra words is confusing and usually obvious to readers and teachers. Specifically, the phrase “there is” almost always is unnecessary and may be eliminated.

Incorrect: These instances of three-dimensional representation manifest the preoccupation with concrete structure inherent in their societal formation.

Correct: These sculptures demonstrate their society’s interest in structure.

Incorrect: There is a urn that sits next to the fireplace.

Correct: An urn sits next to the fireplace.

 

Avoid Gender Bias

Whenever possible, avoid using gendered pronouns to refer to both men and women.

1. Use “humanity” or “humankind” rather than “man” or “mankind.”

2. Fix gender bias by using “he or she” or “his or her,” or by pluralizing.

   Incorrect: The average American washes his hands three times every day.

   Correct: The average American washes his or her hands three times every day.

   Correct: Average Americans wash their hands three times every day.

 

Use Euphemism Only When Necessary

Euphemism is the use of an indirect word or phrase to hint at real meaning.

1. Euphemism can be useful if you are discussing a delicate or sensitive topic or if you want to avoid language that is too vulgar or harsh.

   Incorrect: I’m sorry that your mother was run over by a car.

   Correct: I’m sorry that your mother passed away.

2. Unnecessary euphemism, however, often just confuses writing.

   Incorrect: Maggie didn’t complete her work because she is motivationally challenged.

   Correct: Maggie didn’t complete her work because she is lazy.

 

Avoid Colloquial or Regional Language

Many figures of speech and idioms used in conversation are inappropriate for writing.

Incorrect: Ben hit the nail on the head when he suspected Isabel of boosting his watch.

Correct: Ben’s suspicion that Isabel had stolen his watch was astute.

 

Don’t Mix Metaphors

Do not compare a thing to more than one other thing in the same sentence.

Incorrect: The argument was veiled behind a sea of disagreement.

Correct: Disagreement veiled the argument.

Correct: A sea of disagreement surrounded the argument.

 

Avoid Clichés

Overused words and idioms make sentences informal and difficult to understand.

Incorrect: He stood by her side through thick and thin; even when their relationship was on the rocks, he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Correct: He was loyal to her both in good and bad times; even when they had disagreements, he was optimistic that their relationship would remain strong.