Writing Clearly - Professional Guide

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1. 19 July 2026 · corrected by Selen Ikbal Uslu

   Unverified verbatim quote attributed to William Zinsser's On Writing Well; this exact wording could not be verified in the book.; unverified verbatim quote attributed to Verlyn Klinkenborg's Several Short Sentences About Writing; this exact wording could not be verified in the book.; Misattributed quote: "The only kind of writing is rewriting" is a widely circulated line commonly (though disputedly) attributed to Ernest Hemingway, not E. B. White. There is no evidence E. B. White ; unverified verbatim quote

   Before

   "Clear writing is a kindness. It says to the reader: I respect your time enough to make decisions about what to say, and I respect your intelligence enough to say it directly." William Zinsser, On Writing Well [...] "The best writers use short sentences most of the time. They use long sentences when the rhythm or logic demands it. They never use long sentences by accident." Verlyn Klinkenborg, Several Short Sentences About Writing [...] "The only kind of writing is rewriting. The rest is called drafting, and drafting is the easiest part." E. B. White [...] "Good writing is not a matter of talent. It is a matter of discipline sustained over decades, by people who cared enough to revise every sentence and humble enough to cut their favorite one." John McPhee, Draft No. 4

   After

   As William Zinsser argued in On Writing Well, clear writing is a kindness to the reader: it respects their time and their intelligence. [...] As Verlyn Klinkenborg argues in Several Short Sentences About Writing, deliberate, intentional sentence construction, not accidental length, is what distinguishes strong writing. [...] As many writing teachers put it, the real work is rewriting; drafting is only the first, easiest part. [...] As John McPhee suggests in Draft No. 4, strong writing comes less from talent than from sustained discipline: the willingness to revise relentlessly and to cut even favorite lines.

   Why: Unverified verbatim quote attributed to William Zinsser's On Writing Well; this exact wording could not be verified in the book.; unverified verbatim quote attributed to Verlyn Klinkenborg's Several Short Sentences About Writing; this exact wording could not be verified in the book.; Misattributed quote: "The only kind of writing is rewriting" is a widely circulated line commonly (though disputedly) attributed to Ernest Hemingway, not E. B. White. There is no evidence E. B. White ; unverified verbatim quote attributed to John McPhee's Draft No. 4; this exact wording could not be verified in the book.

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