This, which I stumbled across at http://oakhillalumni.org/about/howweworkpolicies made me smile. Its apparently taken from JETS editorial policy – their web site gives a 26 page (house?) style guide for those with a few days to spare. (Read it as a break from stupid on-line surveys, perhaps)
1. Always avoid the apt art of alliteration.
2. Avoid clichés like the plague.
3. Never, ever generalize.
4. Do not be redundant or use more words than necessary.
5. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
6. Don’t use contractions.
7. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
8. Foreign words are usually not apropos.
9. The passive voice is to be avoided.
10. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
[1] Köstenberger, A., JETS editorial, http://www.etsjets.org/jets/journal/44/44-1/44-1-PP001-004_JETS.pdf 31/3/06
It seems like generally good advice but draconian in places. Perhaps. But I think I’d like to add a few footnotes (and other comments), wouldn’t you? Foreign feels far fetched for such a post and a flaw beyond the wit of the present writer.
Ros, please don’t be tempted to mark my blog against these criteria.
The Oak Hill Alumni site, from which this was culled, (www.oakhillalumni.org) seems in its early stages but would be well worth a look, I think.
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