Economical writing : thirty-five rules for clear and persuasive prose

McCloskey, Deirdre N. (author.). Ziliak, Stephen Thomas, 1963- (contributor.).

Record details

ISBN: 9780226448077
ISBN: 022644807X
Physical Description: print
ix, 153 pages ; 22 cm.
Edition: Third edition.
Publisher: Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2019.
Copyright: ©2019

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-144) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Why you should not stop reading here -- Writing is a trade -- Writing is thinking -- Rules can help, but bad rules hurt -- Be thou clear, but seek joy, too -- The rules are factual rather than logical -- Classical rhetoric guides even the economical writer -- Fluency can be achieved by grit -- Write early rather than late -- You will need tools -- Keep your spirits up, forge ahead -- Speak to an audience of human beings -- Avoid boilerplate -- Control your tone -- A paragraph should have apoint -- Make tables, graphs, displayed equations, and labels on images readable by themselves -- Footnotes and other "scholarly" tics are pedantic -- Make your writing cohere -- Use your ear -- Write in complete sentences -- Avoid elegant variation -- Watch how each word connects with others -- Watch punctuation -- The order around switch until it good sounds -- Read, out loud -- Use verbs, active ones -- Avoid words that bad writers love -- Be concrete -- Be plain -- Avoid cheap typographical tricks -- Avoid this, that, these, those -- Above all, look at your words -- Use standard forms in letters -- Treat speaking in public as a performance -- Advice for nonnative English speakers -- If you didn't stop reading, join the flow -- "Scholars talk writing: Dierdre McCloskey" -- House rules: Teaching materials.