Replied: Wed, 04 Jan 1995 20:59:41 PST
From: paulc (Paul Carlson)
Message-Id: <9501050318.AA21027@gold.CS.ORST.EDU>
Subject: Writing Tips
To: burnett (Margaret Burnett), yang (Sherry Yang), atwoodj (John Atwood),
        vanzeep (Pieter van Zee), walpolr (Rebecca Walpole),
        mishras (sunanda mishra), summers (Benjamin C Summers),
        crowl (Lawrence Crowl)
Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 19:18:34 -0800 (PST)
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Hi,

Over the last year or so I've been collecting various sources on the
art (science?) of good writing.  Over the last few days I've read
those sources and I thought I'd share the results with you.

It's interesting to note that every source claims that to write well
you should write simply, clearly, and briefly.  Avoid pompous phrases.
If you need to use an unusual word, make certain that the subtlety of
its definition is exactly what you're looking for.

I'm particularly interested in a response if you disagree with any of
the opinions given below.

==========================================================
On Writing Well, by William Zinsser  (book)
-----------------------------------

If your main writing is science or technical writing, I don't recommend
that you read this book.  However, if you're interested in writing in
general, it's a quick read, mostly about the different types of
writing.

Some notes I made:

Clutter
-------

Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep
out of it that shouldn't be there....  The writer of clear English must
examine every word that he puts on paper.

Clutter is the laborious phrase which has pushed out the short word
that means the same thing...  These locutions are a drag on energy and
momentum.

Imagine you are writing to children -- not so you are talking down to
the reader, but rather so you eliminate pompous phrases whose only
effect is to make you sound more important.

Avoid ponderous euphemisms -- call a "depressed socioeconomic area" a
slum and a "volume reduction plant" an incinerator.

Clutter slows the reader and robs the writer of his personality.

Style
-----

A writer is obviously at his most natural and relaxed when he writes in
the first person.  Where first person isn't allowed, consider using it
anyways on the first few drafts.

The Ending
----------

When you have presented all the facts and made the point that you want
to make, look for the nearest exit.

Little Qualifiers
-----------------

Every little qualifier ("a bit" "a little" "sort of" "kind of" "rather"
"quite") whittles away some fraction of trust on the part of the
reader.  He wants a writer who belives in himself and in what he is
saying.  Don't diminish this belief.  Don't be kind of bold.  Be bold.

Contractions
------------

There is no rule against such informality -- trust your ear and your
instincts.

==================================================
The Elements of Style, Strunk and White  (book)
---------------------------------------

After hearing so many good things said about this book, I approached
it with a definite degree of skepticism.  But everyone was right -- it's
a gem!  The person who writes regularly should read this book on an
annual basis.  It only takes 3-4 hours and we need to be reminded of
its wisdom on a regular basis.  You can purchase it at the bookstore for
$5.95; look under WR.

Most of my notes were on style rules and aren't repeated here.  But here
are a couple comments:

Put statements in positive form.  Consciously or unconsciously, the
reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not; he wishes to
be told what is.

E.g., use dishonest rather than not honest; use forgot rather than
did not remember.

If those who have studied the art of writing are in accord on any
one point, it is on this: the surest way to arouse and hold the
attention of the reader is by being specific, definite, and concrete.

In general, it is nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs, that give
to good writing its toughness and color.

====================================================
The Science of Scientific Writing, by Gopen and Swan  (article)
----------------------------------------------------

I highly recommend that everyone take the time to read this nine-page
article.

The article is based on these thoughts:

In order to understand how best to improve writing, we would do well to
understand better how readers go about reading....  This methodology of
reader expectations is founded on the recognition that readers make
many of their most important interpretive decisions about the substance
of prose based on clues they receive from its structure.

Information is interpreted more easily and more uniformly if it is
placed where most readers expect to find it.  Readers have relatively
fixed expectations about where in the structure of prose they will
encounter particular items of its substance.  If these structural
expectations are continually violated, readers are forced to divert
energy from understanding the content of a passage to unraveling its
structure.

======================================================
Here's some miscellaneous stuff from sundry sources:

Authors should strive for active verbs and straightforward declarative
sentences, making every effort to help readers understand the concepts
presented.

The purpose of an introduction to a technical article is to define the
problem that led to the investigation.  To do so, the introduction
generally must (1) fill in the background and (2) isolate the
particular deficiencies that currently exist.

Demonstratives - "this" "that" "these" "those" - should in almost all
cases serve as adjectives rather than as pronouns.

Examples:

UNCLEAR - The task force could not complete its study of the mine
accident.  This was the subject of a scathing editorial in the union
newspaper.

CLEAR - The task force failed to complete its study of the mine
accident.  This failure was the subject of a scathing editorial in the
union newspaper.

INTERRUPTIVE - The law firm advised that the company initiate
proceedings.  This resulted in the company's search for a second legal
opinion.

FLUID - The law firm advised that the company initiate proceedings.
This advice resulted in the company's search for a second legal
opinion.

Restrictive modifiers - do not set off with commas, use "that"

Nonrestrictive modifiers - do separate using commas, use "which"

Some questions to ask when writing a technical article:

What have you learned from the work?  If you didn't learn anything it
is a reasonable bet your reader won't either.

What were the alternatives considered at various points, and why were
the choices made the way they were?

Does the introductory material contain excess baggage not needed for
your main development?