"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell." So goes the infamous Rule 13 from the original Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style." Great idea. How do I do that? These six "signs," culled over 25 years of teaching lawyers how to improve their writing, will lead you directly to words and phrases that add no meaning.
Originally published December 12, 2012
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