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humanity. I explained about using active verbs and avoiding “concept nouns.” I told them not to use the special vocabulary of education as a crutch; almost any subject can be made accessible in good English.
William Zinsser • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
Clear writing is the logical arrangement of thought; a scientist who thinks clearly can write as well as the best writer.
William Zinsser • Writing to Learn: How to Write - and Think - Clearly About Any Subject at All
Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that’s already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what—these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence. And they usually occur in proportion t
... See moreWilliam Zinsser • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
Do not break sentences in two.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
You can develop the same eye. Look for the clutter in your writing and prune it ruthlessly. Be grateful for everything you can throw away. Reexamine each sentence you put on paper. Is every word doing new work? Can any thought be expressed with more economy? Is anything pompous or pretentious or faddish? Are you hanging on to something useless just
... See moreWilliam Zinsser • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
A sentence is a small, sealed vessel for holding meaning.
Joe Moran • First You Write a Sentence.: The Elements of Reading, Writing … and Life.
“I’ve been grading my students’ lab reports both for their scientific merit,” Professor Potts said, “and for the language in which they tell me what they did, what their results were and how they interpret those results.
William Zinsser • Writing to Learn: How to Write - and Think - Clearly About Any Subject at All
I don’t suggest that you have to be a poet, but you won’t climb the ladder very high unless you can write lucid memoranda. I persuaded two of my partners to write a book on the subject. I commend it to you.1