Book SummaryOn Writing Well, by William Zinsser

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of On Writing Well

In On Writing Well, William Zinsser argues that anyone can learn the craft of writing by practicing the fundamentals of simplicity, clarity, and identity. Zinsser—a writer and professor of creative nonfiction—primarily applies these principles to nonfiction writing, but his ideas extend to other disciplines as well.

Published in 1976, On Writing Well breaks down the principles of good writing and common problems writers encounter in their craft. Zinsser’s advice is helpful for writers of all skill levels, even those who just want to write a better memo or email.

In this guide, we’ll first discuss simplicity and how to achieve it by eliminating clutter and choosing precise words. Then we’ll explore how to achieve clarity through logic and consistency. We’ll also discuss your writing identity and how to make tasteful creative choices. Finally, we’ll discuss common creative nonfiction writing genres.

What Is Simplicity?

Simplicity means your writing is easy to understand because it uses common and precise words as well as simple sentence structures.

(Shortform note: Zinsser’s belief in simple writing may have been influenced by Dr. Rudolf Flesch, who was a popular literacy expert throughout the mid-1900s. He advocated for short and straightforward writing, contending that it improved reading comprehension. His writings on the subject influenced the minimalist writing and editing style of the 20th century. Flesch even created literacy tests to assess the simplicity of a written passage through a combination of word length and sentence length.)

To write simply, follow these guidelines:

Use Common Words

To avoid confusing your reader, write with smaller, more common words. Zinsser believes that a good rule of thumb is to write like you talk since we generally don’t use words with more than three or four syllables. If you wouldn’t say “pulchritudinous” in conversation with a friend, reconsider using it in your writing.

(Shortform note: Some writing experts offer another reason for using common words: People don’t appreciate feeling illiterate. They argue that writers who use complex words appear to be “showing off” and advise writers to get out of this habit. Researchers support this idea, citing overcomplicated writing and flowery language as a common reason manuscripts are rejected.)

Use Precise Words

Simplifying your writing makes your meaning clearer with fewer words. To achieve simplicity, Zinsser advises choosing the best word to suit your meaning and tone. The best word is the one that accurately encapsulates the idea you want to convey. One precise word can do the job of three or four vague words.

Zinsser encourages writers to use a thesaurus and a dictionary when choosing words. Look up synonyms to words in your thesaurus, and use your dictionary to compare the nuances between their meanings. For example, you could describe the sun as “hot,” but also consider writing “boiling” or “scorching.” One word might offer more nuance or meaning than the others, thus making it a better choice.

(Shortform note: While Zinsser encourages both simple and precise word choices, sometimes the most precise word isn’t the simplest or most natural. For example, “susurration” might be more precise, but “murmur” is the simpler choice. Stephen King believes that while an advanced vocabulary can lead to good writing, it isn’t a requirement for it. In your writing, make sure you’re not compromising simplicity by using a more precise—and more complex—word. Instead, find a balance between simplicity and precision, and use words that feel most natural to you.)

Construct Simple Sentences

Zinsser also recommends writing with straightforward sentence structures. A simple sentence structure clearly conveys the subject of the sentence and the action the subject is performing. These sentences are easier for readers to follow than a complex sentence structure with, for example, many clauses or references to different ideas, time periods, events, and so on.

(Shortform note: There may be a scientific reason to use simpler sentence constructions. While researchers don’t know everything about how the human brain understands sentence meaning, some experts believe that we speed up the processing of simple sentences since our brains can more easily predict where the sentence is going.)

Zinsser argues that writing in active voice is the easiest way to construct straightforward sentences. Active voice describes a subject performing an action: For example, “John will drive my car.” This differs from passive voice, which describes an event or action that happens to someone: For example, “My car will be driven by John.” Active voice is simpler, more direct, and less cluttered than passive voice, which is wordy and indirect.

When Should You Use Passive Voice?

As Zinsser implies, voice refers to the relationship between a verb and the subject and object it’s associated with. Only use passive voice when the object—not the subject—of the sentence is the focus. Rather than highlighting the subject...

On Writing Well Summary Shortform Introduction

In On Writing Well, William Zinsser argues that, like any craft, good writing can be learned. Writing is a form of communication, and most of us have to communicate via writing in our lives or jobs. If you want to write an intelligent email, a best-selling novel, or an instruction manual, Zinsser’s principles of writing will help you communicate effectively.

After years of writing professionally and teaching writing courses, Zinsser distilled his main ideas about good writing into On Writing Well. In this guide, we’ll break down Zinsser’s principles of writing: simplicity, clarity, and identity. We’ll also explore his advice on constructing good writing and on common challenges of different nonfiction genres. In addition, we’ll examine how his principles align with or differ from other writing experts, and we’ll explore how his ideas can play out in specific examples.

About the Author

William Zinsser was an American writer, journalist, and teacher. He wrote 19 books, including On Writing Well, Writing to Learn, and...

On Writing Well Summary Part 1.1: Simplicity

Zinsser believes anyone can learn to write well, and that while many writers think natural talent is the key to good writing, writing is actually a craft. As with any craft, you can hone your skills by practicing good fundamentals.

Even if you’re not a professional writer, you’ll find yourself in a position where you need to express an idea with words. Whether you’re crafting an email or a resume, you can apply Zinsser’s principles of writing.

Zinsser was a writer, journalist, and professor. He spent many years teaching writing courses at Yale and Columbia. This book is a distillation of his writing courses for nonfiction writers, but you can apply his ideas to other genres.

In Part 1 of this guide, we’ll talk about Zinsser’s three principles: simplicity, clarity, and identity. The first two principles discuss improving your writing on a technical and organizational level. The final principle involves developing your writing voice and being engaging. Then in Part 2, we’ll discuss specific advice Zinsser offers for constructing a piece of writing as well as common challenges of different nonfiction genres. Through commentary, we’ll add insights from other writers and...

On Writing Well Summary Part 1.2: Clarity

You now understand the importance of simplifying your writing by being intentional about your word choice and eliminating clutter. Now we’ll discuss Zinsser’s second principle of writing: clarity. We’ll define clarity, talk about being logical and consistent, and discuss a few guiding questions you can ask yourself as you write.

What Is Clarity?

Once you’ve achieved simplicity in wording and structuring your sentences, focus on bringing clarity to your writing. Clarity occurs when you logically explain your idea to a reader. Zinsser believes that it’s your job as a writer to guide the reader through your thought process rather than forcing them to dissect disorganized or underdeveloped writing.

For example, consider how the second sentence loses clarity: “Megan and Courtney walked to the end of the street before parting ways. Then she walked into a nearby coffee shop.” Who is “she” referring to—Megan or Courtney? Something as simple as a vague pronoun can disrupt the clarity of your writing.

Zinsser believes to write clearly, you must clearly understand the topic you’re writing about. If you don’t understand the topic, you’ll never be able to explain it well to...

Shortform Exercise: Achieve Consistency With These Four Questions

Zinsser says that to write consistently, you should answer four guiding questions about your main idea, point of view, tense, and tone.

Think of your current writing project. It could be an essay, travel guide, or letter—any kind of writing. What’s the main idea of this piece of writing? What’s the one thing you want your reader to take away from your writing?

On Writing Well Summary Part 1.3: Identity

Many writers worry that by writing with simplicity and clarity, their writing will be boring. Further, they think complexity and embellishment will give them a unique voice, or writing identity. But Zinsser argues that writing simply and clearly is the most effective way to develop a unique writing identity. In this part, we’ll define identity, explain how to find your writing identity, discuss how to develop good taste, and explore the importance of humanity in writing.

What Is Identity?

Zinsser’s third principle of good writing is identity, or what makes your writing unique to you. It’s the specific style and personality that you as an individual bring to your writing. Zinsser explains that identity is a writer’s most recognizable quality to a reader. If a reader likes your identity and the way you tell stories, they’ll read more of your writing because they’re interested in what you have to say and how you say it. Zinsser argues that identity will determine whether or not readers like you as a writer.

Good artists develop a distinct style in their work, no matter what medium they’re working in. For example, when you look at a painting by Vincent van Gogh, you...

Shortform Exercise: Find the Humanity in Your Writing

Incorporating humanity, or some truth about being human, will make your writing more engaging. Let’s identify some underlying truths in your writing so you can craft more compelling stories in the future.

Think of a story you’re currently writing, would like to write, or wrote in the past. What was the story about? Give a brief description of the piece.

On Writing Well Summary Part 2.1: Constructing a Piece of Writing

Now that you understand Zinsser’s general principles of good writing, we’ll explore Zinsser’s more specific advice on writing. We’ll discuss the decisions behind constructing a piece of writing and common problems of writing in specific nonfiction genres.

Write a Compelling Lead

Zinsser believes that deciding how to start a piece is one of the most difficult decisions you’ll make when writing. The first sentence—known as your lead or lede—is your most important one. Your lead should capture your reader’s interest and compel her to keep reading. Give your reader enough information to keep her interested, but don’t spoil your whole story—otherwise she won’t have a reason to keep reading.

He explains that a lead can look different depending on the story and the writer. Some leads may last a paragraph or a page. Others might only take a few sentences. But Zinsser believes shorter leads are more impactful—the faster you can hook a reader’s interest, the faster you can move on and discuss your ideas or topic.

Avoid These Types of Leads

Zinsser admits that there are many different ways to write a good lead, and other writers echo this claim. It can be helpful...

On Writing Well Summary Part 2.2: Creative Nonfiction

Now that you have the basics for writing well in any genre, let’s discuss Zinsser’s specific advice for nonfiction writing. To write better nonfiction, first dispel the myth that nonfiction is boring. Some people have the misconception that nonfiction writing is uncreative, especially when compared to fiction. But Zinsser contends that this isn’t true. Nonfiction writing allows us to creatively explore the truth of everyday life and the experience of being human.

The benefit to writing nonfiction is that you have many people, places, and lives to draw inspiration from without the pressure of creating fictional characters, places, or events. Zinsser encourages writers to be interested in new ideas and experiences because these will give you more engaging topics to write about.

The Blurry Line Between Nonfiction and Fiction

Experts expand on Zinsser’s idea that nonfiction can be as creative and engaging as fiction, contending that the line between fiction and nonfiction can be a blurry one. There are many fictional stories based...