Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. 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. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subject only in outline, but that every word tell.

William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White.

More information about this quote

Topic

Good writing

Author

William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White.

Source

The Elements of Style

Statement Type

Writing advice

Language

English

Time

1919 1910s 20th century

Occupation

Children's book author Writer

From

United States

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Strunk, William, Jr. The Elements of Style. Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1920, ch. 2, sec. 13.

Current Citation

Strunk, William, Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Penguin Books, 2007, ch. 2, sec. 13.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. about good writing: “Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise.”
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A quote by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. about good writing: “Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise.”
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A quote by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. about good writing: “Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise.”
Download

Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1910s

Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of life Life
Speaker
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Medium
Speech
Language
English
Time
1911 1910s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "The Class of '61." Fiftieth Anniversary of Graduation of the Harvard Class of 1861. 28 June 1911, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Current Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "The Class of '61." The Essential Holmes, edited by Richard A. Posner. University of Chicago Press, 1997.

Another quote from 1919

I am a lover and have not found my thing to love.

Sherwood Anderson

More information about this quote
Topic
Looking for love
Speaker
Stranger

Author

Sherwood Anderson
Source
Tandy
Medium
Short story
Language
English
Time
1919 1910s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Anderson, Sherwood. "Tandy." Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life. B. W. Huebsch, 1919.

Current Citation

Anderson, Sherwood. "Tandy." Winesburg, Ohio, edited by Marc K. Dudley. W. W. Norton & Company, 2023.