Clutter and Style

What phrase did Zinsser's cite as "debasing both language and friendship?"

• personal friend

• fast friend

• best friend

• trusted friend

Who, in an example, utters a "phrase so oxygen-depriving in itself we are prepared for any disaster"?

• a flight attendent

• an anesthetist

• an underwater diver

• a dentist

Zinsser gives evidence from all these kinds of people, except...

• religious people

• politicians

• military leaders

• business heads

How would Zinsser mark writing that "wasn't doing useful work" for his students at Yale?

• put brackets around it

• highlight it

• underline it in red

• circle it with a black marker

Zinsser said the hard part, after cutting an eight-page article down to four pages, was ___.

• cutting it to three

• rewording the remaining clutter

• wondering if you'd cut too much

• writing the next eight-page article.

For an example of sticking with the basics, Zinsser turned to a metaphor from ___.

• carpentry

• sports

• war

• agriculture

Zinsser says style is "organic to the person" in the same way ___ is to a person, even one who is ___.

• hair, bald

• height, very short

• kindness, cruel

• eye color, blind

As an example of an equivocal statement, Zinsser gives "And yet, on balance, affirmative action has, I think, been a qualified success." He said this 13-word statement contained five ___ words.

• hedging

• passive

• obsure

• meaningless