In the New York Times, there was an article posted online that was about the Buffalo Bills quarterback, E.J. Manuel. It talks about the hope that so many Buffalo fans have for Manuel. They hope that he can be efficient. They hope that he can bring them to playoffs. And they hope that he can bring back a Super Bowl Trophy to their hometown. While this article was interesting, it followed the “Good Writing Rules” well.
“He led the Seminoles to four consecutive bowl victories and ended his career with a 66.9 completion percentage, the best in the storied program’s history.”
This sentence specifically followed the second rule, which is using short words. The author of this article was able to use as short of words as possible, while still proving a point.
“The Bills apparently liked him most of all. They chose Manuel with the 16th pick in the draft, making him the first quarterback taken. The next one, Geno Smith, went to the Jets with the 39th pick. ”
The paragraph above followed the seventh rule. This rule explains that good writing comes from short paragraph use. The author used three short sentences. While doing this, he was able to explain that E.J. Manuel was the most desired quarterback in the recent NFL Draft.
“E J Manuel was 25-6 as a starter at Florida State.”
The first rule for good writing could be found in this sentence, good writing uses short sentences. The author’s short sentence was very efficient and effective.
“He has a work ethic and meticulousness that comes, at least in part, from his father, a former supply analyst for the Air Force now employed in the hazardous materials unit of the Department of Defense.”
For this sentence, the author did not follow the third rule of good writing. “Good writing eliminates wordiness.” The above sentence began to drag on towards the end of the sentence.
While writing an interesting story, the author was able to follow many of the rules for good writing, but would challenge the rules occasionally.