William Strunk, Jr.
William Strunk, Jr.
William Strunk Jr.was an American professor of English at Cornell University and author of the The Elements of Style. After revision and enlargement by his former student E. B. White, it became a highly influential guide to English usage during the late 20th century, commonly called Strunk & White...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth1 July 1869
CountryUnited States of America
stronger vigor made
...when a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor.
writing should-have drawing
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.
details attention matter
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.
air quotation-marks attention
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.
air views demand
To air one's views gratuitously, is to imply that the demand for them is brisk.
language colorless assertion
Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language.
loud pronunciation knows
If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!
cute dollars use
Every writer, by the way he uses the language, reveals something of his spirit, his habits, his capacities, his bias....Avoid the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy, and the cute. Do not be tempted by a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready and able.
style acquire
To acquire style, begin by affecting none.
writing should-have drawing
A drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
writing interesting announcing
Instead of announcing what you are about to tell is interesting, make it so.
sometimes rich prose
Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.
children intelligent sky
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.
reason stomach
Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.