zinsser-writing

name	zinsser-writing
description	Apply William Zinsser's "On Writing Well" principles to produce clear, concise, human nonfiction prose. Use when writing or editing articles, essays, reports, documentation, emails, blog posts, or any nonfiction text. Use when asked for clear writing, concise prose, editing for clarity, making writing more readable, removing clutter, or improving writing quality.

Zinsser Writing Principles

This skill applies the craft of clear nonfiction writing from William Zinsser's "On Writing Well."

Core Philosophy

Writing is a craft, not an art. Good writing is learned through practice and revision. Strip every sentence to its cleanest components—every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what.

The Seven Principles

1. Simplicity

Fight for the shortest and simplest construction. Eliminate clutter.

Before: "At the present time we are experiencing precipitation." After: "It's raining."

Before: "He did not think that studying Latin was a sensible use of time." After: "He thought studying Latin was a waste of time."

2. Clarity

Clear thinking becomes clear writing. If the reader doesn't understand, the writer hasn't worked hard enough.

• Use concrete nouns and active verbs
• Avoid vague generalizations
• Say exactly what you mean

3. Brevity

Short is better than long. Cut ruthlessly.

• Prefer short words to long ones
• Prefer short sentences to long ones
• Remove every unnecessary word

4. Humanity

Write with warmth. Readers want a human voice, not institutional prose. Use "I" when appropriate.

Institutional: "It is recommended that employees utilize the new system." Human: "I recommend you use the new system."

5. Unity

Maintain unity of pronoun (stick with "I," "we," or "they"), tense (past or present), and mood (same emotional register throughout).

6. Strong Verbs

Verbs are the most important tools. Use active verbs. Make the subject do something.

Weak: "The meeting was held by the committee." Strong: "The committee met."

Weak: "There are many factors that contribute to success." Strong: "Many factors contribute to success."

7. Rewriting

Rewriting is the essence of writing well. Clear writing results from many small revisions.

Words to Eliminate

Remove unless essential:

• very, really, quite, rather, somewhat
• in order to → "to"
• the fact that
• at this point in time → "now"
• in the event that → "if"
• due to the fact that → "because"
• kind of, sort of
• basically, essentially, actually
• I think, I feel, I believe → just state it

Sentence Patterns to Fix

Pattern	Fix
"It is/There are" openers	Rewrite with subject-verb
Passive voice	Make actor the subject
Noun strings	Use verbs and prepositions
Hedging phrases	State directly
Redundant pairs	Keep one word

The Writing Process

1. Write freely — Get ideas down without self-editing
2. Let it rest — Distance improves perspective
3. Rewrite ruthlessly — Cut clutter, sharpen verbs, clarify meaning
4. Read aloud — Catch awkwardness
5. Cut 10-20% — Almost every draft can lose this much

Extended Examples

For before/after examples across business, technical, academic, and personal writing contexts, see examples.md.