William Strunk, Jr.

“Omit needless words.”

“Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.”

“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.”

“Use the active voice.”

“Write with nouns and verbs.”

“Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract.”

“Do not overwrite.”

“Do not inject opinion.”

“The best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric.”

“If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!”

“The ear of the writer must be his guide.”

“Make definite assertions.”

“Be clear.”

“Avoid fancy words.”

“Avoid the use of qualifiers. 'Rather,' 'very,' 'little,' 'pretty'—these are the leeches that infest the pond of prose.”