The Art of Plain Talk

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What Hacker News says

• gdubs · Oct 30, 2014 · Recommends

  If you're interested in learning how to write clearly, check out "The Art of Plain Talk". [1] It's dated – from the 1950's I think – but shows how to express ideas with clear, direct language. A lot of it has to do with using verbs as much as possible and cutting down on adjectives. Similarly,…

  on “How do you get to write so well in HN?” ↗
• gdubs · Jan 25, 2021 · Recommends

  This reads like it’s straight from “The Art of Plain Talk”, 1946. [1] I picked up that book over a decade ago, and it had a big effect on the way I write. There’s a temptation to use big words to sound more professional. Part of it is understanding your audience.…

  on “The Armed Forces Officer Chapter Twenty: Writing and Speaking (1950)” ↗
• schappim · Dec 23, 2022 · Recommends

  …Truss 3. The Elements of Style by Strunk & White 4. The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker 5. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard 6. Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark 7. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott 8. The Art of Plain Talk by Rudolf Flesch 9. A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker 10. Writing Science by Joshua Schimel

  on “Ask HN: Non-technical books for technical people?” ↗
• gdubs · Mar 21, 2012 · Recommends

  …I was thinking along the lines of the Netflix recommendation engine based on topics covered in a text and the overall 'grade level' of the book. There's been some good work done in the latter, eg "The Art of Plain Talk" which has a system for analyzing the grade level of a given piece of writing.

  on “Ask HN: Requisite knowledge recommender for a given book, what's involved?” ↗