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Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language.
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
Colorless
Tame
Assertion
Definite
Avoid
Language
Make
Hesitating
Assertions
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The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.
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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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Vigorous writing is concise.
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Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.
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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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Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.
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None are so fallible as those who are sure they're right.
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The surest way to arouse and hold the attention of the reader is by being specific, definitive, and concrete. The greatest writers - Homer, Dante, Shakespeare - are effective largely because they deal in particulars and report the details that matter. Their words call up pictures.
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To acquire style, begin by affecting none.
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The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.
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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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Remember, it is no sign of weakness or defeat that your manuscript ends up in need of major surgery. This is a common occurrence in all writing, and among the best writers.
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It is worse to be irresolute than to be wrong.
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Instead of announcing what you are about to tell is interesting, make it so.
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Opinions scattered indiscriminately about leave the mark of egotism.
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To air one's views gratuitously, is to imply that the demand for them is brisk.
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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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A drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
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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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A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses.
William Strunk, Jr.
