I'm surprised to see no mention of the classic style guide by William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style), here. Mostly because its best-known rule is Strunk's famous admonition: "Omit needless words."
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[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 21.3 ms ] threadDon’t reach out; contact.
I think the following rules will cover most cases:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
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[1] https://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_poli...
Although don't most university's encourage the opposite?
Also short comments seem unconstructive online.