Browse quotations by William Strunk Jr. with named works, context notes, meanings and recurring themes.
“Omit needless words.”
Conciseness is treated as removal of words that do no useful work, not as a demand that every sentence be short or stripped of necessary detail.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 13, Project Gutenberg #37134; the surrounding paragraph explicitly says detail need not be eliminated.
“Use the active voice.”
The rule favors direct sentence construction when it makes agency clearer, while the surrounding discussion still allows passive voice when context requires it.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 10, Project Gutenberg #37134; Strunk immediately qualifies the rule by noting legitimate uses of passive construction.
“Vigorous writing is concise.”
Strunk links force with economy: prose becomes stronger when each word contributes to the sentence rather than merely increasing its length.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 13, Project Gutenberg #37134; this sentence introduces the explanation of “Omit needless words.”
“Keep related words together.”
Placing modifiers and connected elements near one another reduces ambiguity and makes the grammatical relationships in a sentence easier to understand.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 16, Project Gutenberg #37134; the following examples focus on avoiding misplaced modifiers and broken relationships.
“Put statements in positive form.”
Strunk recommends stating what is true or intended directly when possible instead of making the reader reconstruct the point from repeated negation.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 11, Project Gutenberg #37134; the rule concerns sentence construction, not positive-thinking philosophy.
“Use definite, specific, concrete language.”
Concrete and specific wording can reduce interpretive work for the reader by replacing vague generalities with language tied to identifiable actions, objects or details.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 12, Project Gutenberg #37134; Strunk follows the heading with examples contrasting vague and concrete phrasing.
“Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.”
Sentence order can create emphasis, and Strunk recommends reserving the strongest final position for the element the sentence most needs the reader to retain.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 18, Project Gutenberg #37134; the principle is extended to sentences in paragraphs and paragraphs in compositions.
“Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.”
Paragraphing is treated as an organizational decision: grouping one developed topic at a time helps readers follow the structure and movement of an argument.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 8, Project Gutenberg #37134; the book discusses exceptions for very short subjects and rapid narrative.