Element of style

src: The Elements of Style, by William Strunk—A Project Gutenberg eBook

Elementary Rules of Usage (Grammar/Punctuation)

1. Form possessive singular by adding ‘s
2. Use comma after each term in series except last
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
4. Comma before conjunction introducing co-ordinate clause
5. Don’t join independent clauses by comma
6. Don’t break sentences in two
7. Participial phrase at beginning refers to grammatical subject

Elementary Principles of Composition

8. One paragraph per topic
9. Begin paragraph with topic sentence
10. Use active voice
11. Put statements in positive form
12. Use definite, specific, concrete language
13. Omit needless words
14. Avoid succession of loose sentences
15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
16. Keep related words together
17. Keep to one tense in summaries
18. Place emphatic words at end of sentence