Writing style
Conversational · Direct · Essayistic · Witty
Apple BooksOn Writing Well
Self-help
- First published
- 1976
- Print length
- 336 pagesHarperCollins, 2006
Description
William Zinsser approaches nonfiction as a craft of clear thinking expressed through clean, deliberate prose. He urges writers to remove clutter, prefer precise words, revise patiently, and trust an individual voice rather than hiding behind jargon or institutional language. The discussion ranges across forms such as interviews, travel writing, memoir, science, business, sports, and criticism, showing how the same principles adapt to different subjects. Zinsser also confronts sexism in usage and the psychological blocks that make writers timid, inflated, or reluctant to begin. Practical instruction is joined to a broader argument about responsibility: strong nonfiction respects both its material and its reader by making complexity understandable without draining the writing of personality.
Reading profile
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Pace
Moderate
Tone
Earnest · Humorous · Reflective · Warm
Structure
Argumentative
Focus
Ideas · Information · Voice
Emotional intensity
1 / 5
Reading complexity
1–5 · higher means more demanding- Writing
- 2 / 5
- Ideas
- 3 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
Themes
Book details
For the print edition listed above.
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780060891541
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