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Every person on the planet should be forced to read (and then be tested) on Strunk and White’s classic “The Elements of Style.” (For those of you who don’t want to shell out the $10 for the book, here’s a free online version.)
I was researching an article for a client this morning and ended up banging my head against the wall, so frustrated by the weak writing of so many bloggers. Their ideas may be strong, but if their writing is weak I won’t link to their blog. I end up finding a different source. Sad! 
When I was a young writer, I absolutely devoured The Elements of Style book and many other books like it. Typos and poor grammar drive me crazy—especially my own!
What makes me even crazier?
I go nutso when you are a full-blown adult and you write like a third grader. “How are you? I am fine. I like cats. I hate dogs. I…” The adult version seems to overuse of “this, it, there, he/she/they.”
Moving off my rant and into positive suggestions that you can actually use, here are some tips for writing blog posts, articles, and other written materials that I’d be happy to share:
1. Sentences should rarely begin with “This” without a noun. It’s fine to say “This house is old.” But “This is the reason why…” forces the reader to go back and re-read the prior sentence.
2. “It” leads to confusion. Which it were you referring to? Find a different way to say the same thing — without the “it.” “It” allows you to talk in the passive voice. Active voice sentences are WAY more powerful!
BEFORE: It is used to promote enterprise 2.0.
AFTER: This marketing tool promotes enterprise 2.0.
3. Ditto for “there.”
BEFORE: There is a woman with 12 cats. She has to get a special permit.
AFTER: A woman with 12 cats has to get a special permit.
4. “He/she/they” which then often leads to overuse of “him/her/them.” Everyone needs a little he/she/they from time to time — but be sure to use lots of sentence variance to break up the monotony of your writing.
BEFORE: Jack is the CEO. He leads a team of 1000 people. They all seem to like him. He is a great leader.
AFTER: As the CEO of XYZ Corporation, Jack is a popular leader of nearly 1000 employees.
Whew! I feel better. Thanks for letting me rant a bit. I want to see strong sentence stucture from all of you from now on. OK? Thanks! You’re the best!
Adrianne
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