Break these rules

Grammar rules are useful tools, but writers should prioritize clarity and reader engagement over strict adherence to them.

When it comes to grammar, we’ve bashed our heads against a brick wall made of clauses, colons, and commas. For decades, even centuries, people have insisted that writers adhere to archaic grammar rules because “That’s the way it’s always been done.” Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been known to thump my fingers on a few grammar handbooks. But my decade of experience teaching writing to college students, graduate students, and professionals in the workplace has shown me that clinging to the ways of “proper grammar” can do more harm than good.

Before you grab your metaphorical (at least I hope they’re not literal) pitchforks and torches, hear me out.

Grammar, as with so much in life, is a tool to get you to a goal. If a grammatical “rule” helps get you to that goal in your document, great. Use it. If it doesn’t help or causes awkwardness or confusion in your writing, break that grammatical rule with a sledgehammer.

Here are five grammatical rules, the logic behind them, and when you can (and perhaps should) break them:

1. Always use active voice. The clinginess to active voice stems from the idea that active voice is more immediate and gets to the point faster than does passive voice. Some people also consider active voice more forthright since the actor is clear and present in the front of the sentence.
   In contrast, passive voice consists of having the past form of “to be” plus a verb with a past participle ending, as in “The document was written.” The actor could be hidden or revealed as in: “The document was written by Bob.”
   What to do instead: The key to knowing when you use active or passive is if the actor matters. If the actor matters, use active voice. If the actor doesn’t matter, use passive voice. Your intent for your sentence and the document’s overall purpose should be the ultimate determinants of whether you use active or passive.
2. Never start a sentence with “and” or “but.” After dutifully researching and tracing back this rule’s origin, I’ve concluded the following: There is no grammatical logic behind this. Someone simply declared this guideline to be canon. Who is that person? No one knows. However, I’m guessing that person may have been a parent with a toddler who loved telling long-winded stories by stringing together sentences with “and” as well as “but.” If this was the case, then I understand.
   What to do instead: Consider your reader. Would they find starting with “and” or “but” informal or incorrect? If so, avoid using “and” or “but” at the beginning of sentences and opt for more formal transition words, or connect your sentences with a comma plus “and” or “but.”
   If you don’t think that your reader cares, break this “rule” if it clarifies the writing or makes it more concise.
3. Paragraphs should be three to five sentences long. The three-to-five-sentence paragraph had good intentions when you learned it in elementary school. It aimed to encourage students in the beginning stages of writing to explain their ideas sufficiently (well, as sufficiently as a second grader can). But, we’ve all moved on from the second grade, and it’s time to move on from the three-to-five-sentence paragraph.
   What to do instead: Have one main idea per paragraph. When you start a new main idea, start a new paragraph. Your paragraph can be one sentence or seven sentences. Let content and your reader’s desires dictate paragraph length.
4. Avoid any repetition. The idea behind avoiding repetition is to promote a smooth flow in your writing so that a reader doesn’t stop reading. Readers aren’t fans of choppy writing. But today’s readers are often skimming rather than reading documents in their entirety. Repetition acts as a neon-orange sign to readers.
   What to do instead: Use repetition to emphasize concepts and keywords. Avoid repetition that doesn’t have a logical reason for existing in your document.
5. Don’t end a sentence with a preposition. This grammatical command stems from prepositions needing objects. Prepositions get lonely and need a noun or pronoun buddy to act upon, affect, or reference. The noun or pronoun are the objects of the preposition’s affection, if you will.
   When you don’t have an object for a preposition, you may get sentences that lack clarity and feel like they were cut off before they ended. For example, pretend I say, “Can we get burgers from?” You’d be waiting for me to finish my sentence to tell you where we’re getting the burgers.
   The problem is when writers torture a sentence within an inch of its life to avoid ending on a preposition, despite having no issues with clarity. For instance, pretend I write, “Which box does that go in?” The sentence’s meaning is clear despite it ending in a preposition.
   What to do instead: Avoid ending on a preposition if you’re looking for a formal tone for your document. However, avoid forcing your writing to meet the “don’t end on a preposition” guideline if it results in wordy or awkward sentences.

My point in explaining these grammatical rules and when you can (and should) break them is not to arm a sea of rebel writers and overturn grammar practices. I’m not downplaying the practice of good grammar. Rather, my aim is to empower you with the knowledge that you’re not forced into a box with only one way out when you write.

But, let’s face it, you can’t break the rules meaningfully and logically unless you learn the rules in the first place. So, learn about grammar. Brush off the dust from Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style (the modern-day “do this and not that” for writing and grammar). When you learn and internalize the “rules,” break them as long as you have a logical and specific reason for doing so. 

Elizabeth Preston, Ph.D., is an executive consultant for Hurley Write and the producer and co-host of The Writing Docs podcast. Connect with her on LinkedIn.