Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1.Principles of Communication. Rule 1: Use the Active Voice. Rule 2: Avoid Long Sentences. Rule 3. Use Simple Language. Rule 4: Delete Words, Sentences, and Phrases That Do Not Add to Your Meaning. Rule 5: Break Your Writing into Short Sections. Rule 6: Use Specific and Concrete Terms. Rule 7: Write in a Natural, Conversational Style. Rule 8: Keep Ideas Parallel. 2.Principles of Organization. Rule 9: Organize Your Material According to the Way Your Reader Thinks about the Subject. Rule 10: Organize Your Material Logically. Rule 11: Delete the Warm-Up Paragraph. Rule 12: Use an Executive Summary. Rule 13: Separate Fact from Opinion. Rule 14: Delete Unnecessary Closings. Rule 15: Use Headings and Subheadings. 3.Principles of Wording and Phrasing. Rule 16: Avoid Wordy and Redundant Phrases. Rule 17: Use Small Words. Rule 18: Avoid Sexist Language. Rule 19: Know the Proper Use of the Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases. Rule 20: Substitute Modern Business Language for Antiquated Phrases. Rule 21: Substitute Original Language for Cliches. Rule 22: Avoid Jargon. 4.Principles of Tone. Rule 23: Write to Express, Not to Impress. Rule 24: Prefer Informal to Formal Language. Rule 25: Prefer Positive Words to Negative Words. Rule 26: In a Sentence Containing Both Good and Bad News, Give the Bad News First. Rule 27: Write to Change Behavior, Not to Express Anger. Rule 28: Be Your Most Pleasant Self. Rule 29: Use Contractions to Warm Up Your Message. Rule 30: Avoid Unnecessary Hedging. Rule 31: Avoid Sarcasm. 5.Principles of Persuasion. Rule 32: Gain Your Reader's Attention in an Appropriate Manner. Rule 33: Awaken a Need for an Idea before Presenting the Idea. Rule 34: Stress Benefits, Not Features. Rule 35: Use Facts, Opinions, and Statistics to Prove Your Case. Rule 36: Don't Get Bogged Down in Unnecessary Details or Arguments. Rule 37: Tell the Reader What to Do Next. Rule 38: Before Making a Request, Give the Reader a Reason to Respond. Rule 39: Do Not Assume the Readers Has Been Persuaded by Your Argument. 6.Principles of Punctuation, Grammar, Abbreviation, Capitalization, and Spelling. Punctuation. Rule 40: Use Commas to Indicate a Brief Pause. Rule 41: Use a Semicolon to Separate Independent Clauses Not Joined by a Conjunction. Rule 42: Use a Colon to Introduce a List or Explanation. Rule 43: Add an Apostrophe and an s to Form the Possessive Case of a Singular Noun. Rule 44: Hyphenate Two Words Compounded to Form an Adjective Modifier if They Precede a Noun. Rule 45: Use an Ellipsis to Show Hesitation or Omission. Rule 46: Use Parentheses to Add Explanatory Material That's Not Part of the Main Thought. Rule 47: Use a Dash to Interrupt -- or Highlight -- a Thought. Rule 48: Avoid Slash Construction. Rule 49: Put Commas Inside Quotation Marks. Grammar. Rule 50: Avoid Subject and Verb Disagreement. Rule 51: Avoid Improper Use of Reflexive Pronouns. Rule 52: Avoid Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences. Rule 53: Avoid Dangling Modifiers. Rule 54: Avoid Misplaced Modifiers. Abbreviations. Rule 55: Use Too Few Abbreviations Rather Than Too Many. Rule 56: Do Not Use an Apostrophe When Writing the Plural of an Abbreviation. Capitalization. Rule 57: Do Not Capitalize Words to Emphasize Their Importance. Rule 58: Capitalize the Full Names of Corporation, Government Agencies, Divisions, Departments, and Organizations. Rule 59: Capitalize Trade Names. Spelling. Rule 60: Know the Basic Rules of Spelling, Rule 61: If there are Variant Spellings, Use the Preferred Spelling. Rule 62: Keep a List of the Words You Repeatedly Misspell. 7.Principles of Format. Rule 63: Use Wide Margins to Aid Readability. Rule 64: Use Subject and Re Lines in Memos. Rule 65: Use Modern Salutations and Closings in Letters. Rule 66: Use Numbered Lists or Bullets to Present a Series of Points or Ideas. Rule 67: Put Names in cc and bc lists in Alphabetical Order. Index.About the Authors.