4 ms·
Good writing is lean, clean, and easy to read
- pranaygp 7y agoThis is great! I read this immediately after writing and sharing a blog post on HN
- neilwilson 7y agoI shall add my favourite bugbear to this wise list Don’t reach out; contact.
- smacktoward 7y agoI'm surprised to see no mention of the classic style guide by William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style), here. Mostly because its best-known rule is Strunk's famous admonition: "Omit needless words."
- splittingTimes 7y agoGreat read. Another resources that helped me was George Orwell's essay [1]. I think the following rules will cover most cases: 1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. 2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. 3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. 4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. 5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. 6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. === [1] https://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit https://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_poli...
- sunstone 7y agoTell that to Arundhati Roy.
- RealDinosaur 7y agoI agree, especially for signage. Although don't most university's encourage the opposite? Also short comments seem unconstructive online.