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Simplicity
William Zinsser
Author and Text
• Zinsser is an journalist and writer, editor, and former Harvard
writing professor. He has published 15 books on a wide range
of issues including baseball, journalism, American Places, and
On Writing Well.
• The text is an excerpt from Zinsser’s novel On Writing Well,
which is well regarded and has been frequently republished.
Audience
• The book is described in the 25th Anniversary edition as “a
book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who
needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost
everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet” (Zinsser
2006).
Summarize
• Simplicity makes an argument for clear writing that avoids
“unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frill, and
meaningless jargon” (Zinnser 2010 p. 28).
• Zinsser then provides numerous examples of self important
unclear writing from a range of educated writers. He explains
that “the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its
cleanest components”, and his examples certainly show
sentences that need to be cleaned up (Zinnser 2010 p. 29).
• He also provides some positive examples of clean, simple
writing from authors such as Henry David Thoreau.
Summarize (cont)
• He explains the connection between clear thinking and clear
writing and the need to focus on the reader.
• Zinsser then provides more concrete examples of pairing
down wordy writing in student texts
• He finishes by explaining that “ Writing is hard work. A clear
sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right
the first time. Or the third. Keep thinking and rewriting until
you say what you want to say” (Zinsser 2010 p. 31).
Purpose
• Zinsser is interested in informing and persuading the reader
about how to write cleanly, clearly, and simply and that this
style of writing takes real effort.
• But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its
cleanest components (Zinsser 2010 p. 29). He then expands
his thesis in the following lines.
• He assumes the reader wants to improve his writing, which
makes sense in a book called Writing Well. He also asks the
reader to assume that his examples are representative.
Structure
• The text has a three sentence introduction introducing the issue of
unclear writing and then his thesis.
• He then provides some examples of professionals writing poorly and
examines and comments upon them.
• He then provides examples of simple, effective writing from Thoreau
and Roosevelt.
• After the example of good writing, Zinsser provides an anecdote
about teaching students to write clearly in a stripped down style.
• He finishes with a short 1 paragraph conclusion that focuses on the
need to work for effective writing.
• The text design is in simple paragraph form without citation. He
does use extensive signal phrases and tries to model the style of
writing he is advocating for throughout the essay. Overall, his clear,
simple writing does a good job in demonstrating his point.
Constraints
• The only obvious constraint here is that it is an excerpt.
Zinsser probably self censored slightly in who he uses as
examples for poor writing. He certainly left off names for
those he used as examples of poor writing.
Intertextuality
• Zinsser quotes “the president of a major university” (2010 p.
29)
• He uses Roosevelt and Thoreau as examples of simple, clear
writing.
• He also references several interactions with students.
Ethos
• The author has a lot credibility due to his teaching background
at Harvard, his journalism experience, and his many novels. He
also uses lots of examples, some from very respected writers,
to demonstrate the style he is advocating for.
Pathos
• Zinsser tries to make us sympathetic for readers that have
difficulty reading due to poor or wordy writing (2010 pg 30).
• He also uses some humor and emotional appeal through his
examples with student interactions.
Logos
• Zinsser doesn’t use an statistics and few facts, but provides
numerous examples of poor and effective writing.
• He uses basic logic in examining how writers can strive for
clear thinking and thereby clear writing in their papers on
page 31.
• He also appeals to the reader’s sense of rationality through
deductive reasoning that examines why many students are so
unwilling to cut out any parts of their writing.