bruised and aching,agonizingly tired,scarcely able to shovel the mashed potatoes into his mouth. Let us see him staggering up to the room,getting out his econ textbook,peering desperately at it with his good eye,falling asleep and failing the test in the morning.Let us share his unbearable tension as Saturday draws near.Will he fail,be demoted,lose his monthly allowance,be forced to return to the coal mines?And if he succeeds,what will be his reward?Perhaps a slight ripple of applause when the third-string center replaces him,a moment of elation in the locker room if the team wins,of despair if it loses.What will he look back on when he graduates from college?Toil and torn ligaments.And what will be his future?He is not good enough for pro football,and he is too obscure and weak in econ to succeed in stocks and bonds.College football is tearing the heart from Alfy Simkins and,when it finishes with him.will callously toss aside the shattered hulk. 16 This is no doubt a weak enough argument for the abolition of college football,but it is a sight better than saying,in three or four variations,that college football(in your opinion)is bad for the players. 17 Look at the work of any professional writer and notice how constantly he is moving from the generality,the abstract statement,to the concrete example,the facts and figures,the illustrations. If he is writing on juvenile delinquency,he does not just tell you that juveniles are(it seems to him) delinquent and that(in his opinion)something should be done about it.He shows you juveniles being delinquent,tearing up movie theatres in Buffalo,stabbing high school principals in Dallas, smoking marijuana in Palo Alto.And more than likely he is moving toward some specific remedy, not just a general wringing of the hands. 18 It is no doubt possible to be too concrete,too illustrative or anecdotal,but few inexperienced writers err this way.For most the soundest advice is to be seeking always for the picture,to be always turning general remarks into seeable examples.Don't say,"Sororities teach girls the social graces."Say,"Sorority life teaches a girl how to carry on a conversation while pouring tea, without sloshing the tea into the saucer."Don't say,"I like certain kinds of popular music very much."Say,"Whenever I hear Gerber Sprinklittle play 'Mississippi Man'on the trombone,my socks creep up my ankles." GET RID OF OBVIOUS PADDING 19 The student toiling away at his weekly English theme is too often tormented by a figure:five hundred words.How,he asks himself,is he to achieve this staggering total?Obviously by never using one word when he can somehow work in ten. 20 He is therefore seldom content with a plain statement like"Fast driving is dangerous."This has only four words in it.He takes thought,and the sentence becomes: In my opinion,fast driving is dangerous. Better,but he can do better still: In my opinion,fast driving would seem to be rather dangerous. If he is really adept,it may come out: In my humble opinion,though I do not claim to be an expert on this complicated subject,test driving,in most5 bruised and aching, agonizingly tired, scarcely able to shovel the mashed potatoes into his mouth. Let us see him staggering up to the room, getting out his econ textbook, peering desperately at it with his good eye, falling asleep and failing the test in the morning. Let us share his unbearable tension as Saturday draws near. Will he fail, be demoted, lose his monthly allowance, be forced to return to the coal mines? And if he succeeds, what will be his reward? Perhaps a slight ripple of applause when the third-string center replaces him, a moment of elation in the locker room if the team wins, of despair if it loses. What will he look back on when he graduates from college? Toil and torn ligaments. And what will be his future? He is not good enough for pro football, and he is too obscure and weak in econ to succeed in stocks and bonds. College football is tearing the heart from Alfy Simkins and, when it finishes with him, will callously toss aside the shattered hulk. 16 This is no doubt a weak enough argument for the abolition of college football, but it is a sight better than saying, in three or four variations, that college football (in your opinion) is bad for the players. 17 Look at the work of any professional writer and notice how constantly he is moving from the generality, the abstract statement, to the concrete example, the facts and figures, the illustrations. If he is writing on juvenile delinquency, he does not just tell you that juveniles are (it seems to him) delinquent and that (in his opinion) something should be done about it. He shows you juveniles being delinquent, tearing up movie theatres in Buffalo, stabbing high school principals in Dallas, smoking marijuana in Palo Alto. And more than likely he is moving toward some specific remedy, not just a general wringing of the hands. 18 It is no doubt possible to be too concrete, too illustrative or anecdotal, but few inexperienced writers err this way. For most the soundest advice is to be seeking always for the picture, to be always turning general remarks into seeable examples. Don't say, "Sororities teach girls the social graces." Say, "Sorority life teaches a girl how to carry on a conversation while pouring tea, without sloshing the tea into the saucer." Don't say, "I like certain kinds of popular music very much." Say, "Whenever I hear Gerber Sprinklittle play 'Mississippi Man' on the trombone, my socks creep up my ankles." GET RID OF OBVIOUS PADDING 19 The student toiling away at his weekly English theme is too often tormented by a figure: five hundred words. How, he asks himself, is he to achieve this staggering total? Obviously by never using one word when he can somehow work in ten. 20 He is therefore seldom content with a plain statement like "Fast driving is dangerous." This has only four words in it. He takes thought, and the sentence becomes: In my opinion, fast driving is dangerous. Better, but he can do better still: In my opinion, fast driving would seem to be rather dangerous. If he is really adept, it may come out: In my humble opinion, though I do not claim to be an expert on this complicated subject, test driving, in most