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"Write in a way that comes naturally," "Revise and rewrite," "Do not explain too much," and the rest; above all, the cleansing, clarion "Be clear."
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
On Writing Well
Youri Cviklinski • 11 cards
William Zinsser • On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
When you use a quotation, start the sentence with it. Don’t lead up to it with a vapid phrase saying what the man said.
William Zinsser • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
The customer has to stop after every sentence and translate it.
William Zinsser • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
This may seem to be a paradox. Earlier I warned that the reader is an impatient bird, perched on the thin edge of distraction or sleep. Now I’m saying you must write for yourself and not be gnawed by worry over whether the reader is tagging along. I’m talking about two different issues. One is craft, the other is attitude. The first is a question
... See moreWilliam Zinsser • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction
“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. 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
... See morepeople who write obscurely are either unskilled in writing or up to mischief.
William Zinsser • Writing to Learn: How to Write - and Think - Clearly About Any Subject at All
We are a society paralyzed by the inability to convey routine information—the inability of the executive to explain company policy in a memo to the staff, of the employee to explain his new idea in a proposal to the boss, of the bank to explain its “simplified” new bank statement to the customer, of the manufacturer to explain in a consumer manual
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