Use The Active Voice
The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive:
-
I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.
This is much better than
-
My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.
The latter sentence is less direct, less bold, and less concise. If the writer tries to make it more concise by omitting "by me,"
Begin Each Paragraph With A Topic Sentence
As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning.
Again, the object is to aid the reader. The practice here recommended enables him to discover the purpose of each paragraph as he begins to read it, and to retain the purpose in mind as he ends it. For this reason, the most generally useful kind of paragraph, particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which
One Paragraph To Each Topic
Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.
If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if you intend to treat it very briefly, there may be no need of subdividing it into topics. Thus a brief description, a brief summary of a literary work, a brief account of a single incident, a narrative merely outlining an action, the setting forth of a single idea, any one of these is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written, it should be examined to see whether subdivision will not improve it.
Place the Emphatic Words of a Sentence at the End
From: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.
The proper place for the word, or group of words, which the writer desires to make most prominent is usually the end of the sentence.
-
Humanity has hardly advanced in fortitude since that time, though it has advanced in many other ways.
-
Humanity, since that time, has advanced in many other ways, but it has hardly advanced in fortitude.
-
This steel is principally used for making razors, because of its hardness.
-
Because of its hardness, this steel is principally used in making razors.