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Quote by William Zinsser

“My four articles of faith: clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity.”

Author

William Zinsser was an American writer renowned for his concise, clear, and humorous writing style. His works spanned a variety of fields including literature, history, and practical writing, with his most famous titles being 'On Writing Well' and 'American Writing'. Zinsser's writing style has had a profound impact on modern writing. more

“My commodity as a writer, whatever I'm writing about, is me. And your commodity is you. Don't alter your voice to fit the subject. Develop one voice that readers will recognize when they hear it on the page, a voice that's enjoyable not only in its musical line but in its avoidance of sounds that would cheapen its tone: breeziness and condescension and clichés.”

Writing Sound Voice Lines Subjects Reader Fit Pages Musical Tone Commodity Enjoyable Avoidance Condescension Condescension And

Author:William Zinsser

“Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.”

Writing Disease Meaningless Construction Unnecessary Clutter Jargon Pompous Writing Well Strangling Frills

Book:On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

Source: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

“Finding a voice that your readers will enjoy is largely a matter of taste. Saying that isn't much help-taste is a quality so intangible that it can't even be defined. But we know it when we meet it.”

Knows Writing Matter Helping Enjoy Voice Quality Reader Taste Findings Defined Intangible

Author:William Zinsser

“Writers the most learned, the most accurate in details, and the soundest in tendency, frequently fall into a habit which can neither be cured nor pardoned,-the habit of making history into the proof of their theories.”

Writing Fall Learning Theory Habit Historical Details Proof Tendencies Accurate Making History