Quote

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.

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
Call
Pictures
Surest
Attention
Details
Report
Words
Writers
Largely
Matter
Reader
Shakespeare
Dante
Writing
Deal
Concrete
Particulars
Way
Hold
Reports
Arouse
Deals
Specific
Definitive
Greatest
Effective
Homer

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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 drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
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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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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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To air one's views gratuitously, is to imply that the demand for them is brisk.
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Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language.
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Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.
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Instead of announcing what you are about to tell is interesting, make it so.
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It is worse to be irresolute than to be wrong.
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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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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 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 dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses.
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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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The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity.
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Vigorous writing is concise.
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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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