The surest way to arouse and hold the attention of the reader is by being specific, definitive, and concrete. The greatest writers - Homer, Dante, Shakespeare - are effective largely because they deal in particulars and report the details that matter. Their words call up pictures.

In exposition and in argument, the writer must likewise never lose his hold upon the concrete; and even when he is dealing with general principles, he must furnish particular instances of their application.

If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!

A drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.

Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language.

The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity.

...when a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor.