Whether we're experienced writers or just beginners, we all follow certain rules. Not all rules of writing, however, are equally valid¹ or useful.

无论我们是经验丰富的作家还是写作新手，我们都遵循一定的规则来写作。但是，并非所有的规则都有用。

Before applying the principles of effective writing, we need to find out which rules are worth taking seriously and which ones aren't really rules at all. Here we'll look at five phony rules of writing. Behind each one lies a reasonably good idea, but there are also good reasons why these so-called rules should sometimes be broken.

在使用有效的写作规则之前，我们先要分清哪些规则值得认真学习，而哪些规则根本算不上规则。在此，我们着重了解五条伪规则。每条伪规则背后都有值得借鉴的地方，但是有时我们也不必遵循这些所谓的规则。

1. Never use the first person pronoun ("I" or "we") in an essay.

1. 不要在文章里使用第一人称（“我”和“我们”）

Our choice of a personal pronoun should depend on what we're writing about and our reason for writing. In an essay based on personal experience, for example, the I point of view is not only natural but practically unavoidable. (Substituting "one" and "oneself" for "I" and "myself" usually leads to awkward writing.)

人称的选择应基于写作的内容及原因。比如，在一篇描述个人经历的文章中，第一人称视角不仅自然，而且无可避免。（用其他人称代替第一人称则显得奇怪。）

On the other hand, critical essays, term papers, and lab reports are commonly presented from the third-person point of view (he, she, it, they) because the subject of the paper, not the writer, should be the focus of attention.

另一方面，评论性文章、学期论文、实验报告通常采用第三人称（他、她、它、他们、她们、它们），因为这类文章的重点在内容上而非作者。

2. An essay must contain five paragraphs.

2. 文章必须包含五个段落

Although most essays contain a beginning, a middle, and an end, there's no official limit on the number of paragraphs that should appear in an essay.

尽管大多数文章包含开头、主体、结尾部分，但是文章到底应该有几段却没有一个具体的规定。

Many instructors² use the five-paragraph model to introduce students to the basic structure of an essay. Likewise, some standardized³ essay exams appear to encourage the simple five-paragraph theme. But you should feel free to move beyond the basics (and beyond five paragraphs), especially when dealing⁴ with complex subjects.

许多老师用五段论模型向学生介绍写作的基本结构。同样的，标准化写作考试也喜欢简单的五段论文章。但是，抛开这个基本的框架（抛开五段论）可以让你的写作过程更加随心所欲，尤其是当你在解决复杂的问题时。

3. A paragraph must contain between three and five sentences.

3. 每一段应包含三到五句话

Just as there's no limit to the number of paragraphs that may appear in an essay, no rule exists regarding the number of sentences that make up a paragraph. If you check out the works by professional writers, you'll find paragraphs as short as a single word and as long as two or three pages.

就像文章没有固定的段落数一样，每一段中要写几句话也没有严格的规定。如果你看看专业作者的文章，你会发现有的段落短到只有一个词，而有的段落则长达两到三页。

Instructors often encourage beginning writers to build paragraphs with at least three to five sentences. The purpose of this advice is to help students understand that most body paragraphs need to be developed with specific details that prove or support the main idea of a paragraph.

老师经常鼓励初学者把每段话写上至少三到五句话。这个建议的目的是帮助学生了解大部分的主体段需要用具体的细节展开来支撑该段的主要论点。

4. Never begin a sentence with "And" or "But."

4. 不要用“并且”和“但是”作为段落开头

It's true that most often the conjunctions "and" and "but" are used to join words, phrases, and clauseswithin a sentence. But on occasion these simple transitions can be used effectively to show that a fresh sentence is building on a previous thought ("And") or shifting to a contrary point of view ("But").

虽然and（和，并且），but（但是）这一类连词可以在句中连接两个词语、短语以及从句，但是，有时这些简单的过渡词能有效地告诉读者这一句话是建立在上一句的想法上的（用and的时候），或者这一句话与上一句话意思相反（用but的时候）。

Because "and" and "but" are so easy to use (and to overwork) at the beginning of a sentence, instructors often discourage students from using them there at all. But you know better.

因为and和but很容易在段落开头使用（也容易滥用），老师经常会完全反对学生使用。但你现在知道这样不对了。

5. Never repeat a word or a phrase in the same sentence or paragraph.

5. 不要在同一句话或同一段中重复词语或短语

A sound rule of writing is to avoid needless repetition. No good comes from boring our readers. On occasion, however, repetition of a key word or phrase can be an effective strategy for focusing the reader's attention on a main idea. And it's certainly better to repeat a word than to indulge in elegant variation.

合理的写作建议是避免无用的重复。让读者乏味不会带来好处。但是，有时重复关键词是个有效的方法让读者的注意力保持在论点上。直接重复使用某个词要比换个同义词更好。

Cohesive⁵ writing flows smoothly⁶ from one sentence to the next, and repeating a key word or phrase can sometimes help us achieve coherence⁷.

流畅的文章从一句话过渡到下一句话时是十分行云流水的，重复使用关键词有时可以达到流畅的效果。