On Writing Well ch.5&6

1 Summary

Ch.5 The audience
The aim of the writing is to please yourself and express your real feeling. The writers should maintain the sentence clean and avoid pretentiousness.

Ch.6 Words
Journalese is a manner of writing characterized by cheap words, made-up words and clichés. To avoid the journalese, the author suggests making a habit of reading and using dictionaries. Also, the writer should think about the rhythm and alliteration.

2 Vocabulary

gnaw, tag along

Now I’m saying you must write for yourself and not be gnawed by worry over whether the reader is tagging along.

gnaw: feel worried and uncomfortable 使烦恼，折磨
[造句] I've been gnawed by guilt about absenting the tutorial.
[注意] g不发音
gnaw 也表示啃，咬（通常指啃出洞或逐渐咬坏）
[造句] The dog is gnawing the bone.

tag along: (informal) （通常指未经邀请）跟随，尾随
[造句] I didn't know him, he just tagged along with us.

doze off

If they doze off in the middle of your article because you have been careless about a technical detail, the fault is yours.
（尤指在白天）睡着了 fall asleep for a short period
[造句] I nearly dozed off during the lecture.

ramble

Other old writers ramble and repeat themselves; their style is the tip-off that they have turned into garrulous bores.
(disapproving) 语无伦次地闲扯；没完没了地胡乱说；信笔乱写
e.g. Sorry, I'm rambling on - let me get back to the point.
[造句] He always tend to ramble during the discussion.

ramble 也表示（尤指在乡间）闲逛，漫步；（植物）蔓延，蔓生。其实这样就很容易联想到“扯远了”这个意思。

sloppy

Sloppy editing is common in newspapers, often for lack of time, and writers who use clichés often work for editors who have seen so many clichés that they no longer even recognize them.
草率的，马虎的，邋遢的
e.g. Spelling mistakes always look sloppy in the formal letter.

thesaurus

同义词词典

root around

Take the time to root around and find the ones you want.
(informal) to search for sth, especially by looking through other things.