Style-The Basics Of Clarity And GraceJoseph M. Williams
Style-The Basics Of Clarity And Grace
by Joseph M. Williams · first published 2003
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2011–2024first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
A practical guide to clear, well-structured prose. It is an evidence-based alternative to Strunk and White for improving technical and professional writing.
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Note, Joseph M. Williams now has 3 different 'Style' books: Style: Toward Clarity and Grace Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace I can't speak to the first 2, but I purchased the 3rd and found it to be excellent.
on “Writing Clear, Concise, Sentences” ↗…phrasing in some docs I've read where it reads like the writer bent themselves into a pretzel trying to get to the active voice. In Matt Might's recommended reading section for that tool he points out Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace by Joseph Williams, and reading that book and really learning a lot of things it shows will be much more helpful overall for your writing. Its use of contrasting examples is very effective. For instance,…
on “BibTeX Tidy” ↗Nothing has impacted my writing more than that book. There are several versions now, the one I have is titled "Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace". I chose it over White's book because of this passage from Clear and Simple as the Truth: > The best-known teachers of practical style are Strunk and White, in their ubiquitous Elements of Style. The…
on “E. B. White’s “Plain Style” at 75” ↗Regarding getting better at writing, there was a post recently on improving technical writing, ostensibly about shell scripts to detect passive voice, but it also had a list of recommendations: Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace as an alternative to Strunk and White, the Chicago Manual of Style, and A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations specifically for technical writing. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42407250
on “Show HN: Performant intracontinental public transport routing in Rust” ↗Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace is an excellent book. I picked it up ages ago, and rather liked it. A lot of writing advice out there is... weird. There seem to be a couple different varieties. One is "first year university students…
on “Show HN: Performant intracontinental public transport routing in Rust” ↗