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1918Ithaca, New York, United States
E.B. White·1959Although there is no substitute for merit in writing, clarity comes closest to being one.
William Strunk Jr.·1918The surest way to arouse and hold the reader's attention is by being specific, definite, 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.·1918Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract.
The surest way to arouse and hold the reader's attention is by being specific, definite, 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.
Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.
Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract.