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It is worse to be irresolute than to be wrong.

William Strunk, Jr.

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William Strunk, Jr.
Age: 77 †
Born: 1869
Born: July 1
Died: 1946
Died: September 26
Professor
Writer
Cincinnati
Ohio
Wrong
Irresolute
Worse

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Rewrite and revise. Do not be afraid to seize what you have and cut it to ribbons ... Good writing means good revising.
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The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.
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Vigorous writing is concise.
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The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity.
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Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language.
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...when a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor.
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None are so fallible as those who are sure they're right.
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To acquire style, begin by affecting none.
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A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
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Avoid fancy words....If you admire fancy words, if every sky is beauteous, every blonde curvaceous, every intelligent child prodigious, if you are tickled by discombobulate, you will have bad time Reminder 14.
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Instead of announcing what you are about to tell is interesting, make it so.
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If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!
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Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.
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To air one's views gratuitously, is to imply that the demand for them is brisk.
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Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.
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In exposition and in argument, the writer must likewise never lose his hold upon the concrete and even when he is dealing with general principles, he must furnish particular instances of their application.
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A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses.
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Opinions scattered indiscriminately about leave the mark of egotism.
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If you use a colloquialism or a slang word or phrase, simply use it do not draw attention to it by enclosing it in quotation marks. To do so is to put on airs, as though you were inviting the reader to join you in a select society of those who know better.
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