Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Rules for writers

  1.  Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
  2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
  3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
  4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
  5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
  6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
  7. Be more or less specific.
  8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
  9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's 
highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words 
however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth 
shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate 
quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist 
hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

 12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
Nothing could be more apropos. 

 32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
-- 
Anna

 > 32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
Solo gli stronzi usano parole volgari.
Sii conciso, cerca di condensare i tuoi pensieri nel minor numero di
parole possibile, evitando frasi lunghe � o spezzate da incisi che
inevitabilmente confondono il lettore poco attento � affinch� il tuo
discorso non contribuisca a quell'inquinamento dell'informazione che �
certamente (specie quando inutilmente farcito di precisazioni inutili, o
almeno non indispensabili) una delle tragedie di questo nostro tempo
dominato dal potere dei media.
Gli accenti non debbono essere n� scorretti n� inutili, perch� chi lo f�
sbaglia.
Inutile dirti quanto sono stucchevoli le preterizioni.
Non indulgere ad arcaismi, 'apax legomena' o altri lessemi inusitati,
nonch� deep structures rizomatiche che, per quanto ti appaiano come
altrettante epifanie della differanza grammatologica e inviti alla deriva
decostruttiva � ma peggio ancora sarebbe se risultassero eccepibili allo
scrutinio di chi legga con acribia ecdotica � eccedano comunque le
competenze cognitive del destinatario.

Anna Martini wrote on 11/6/2009 15:49 in
it.cultura.linguistica.inglese:

Aggiungerei qualche consiglio per chi impara l'inglese:
35. It is important to use up phrasal verbs correctly. 
36. Memorize English idioms, learn them by brain!
37. Not you make translations literal from the Italian!
38. In addiction to that, let me avert you of one gross 
question: 'false friends'.