The essence of good writing

"The Elements of Style," written by William Strunk a century ago,remains the finest textbook for writers on how to write with clarity and meaning. As if to emphasize the importance of brevity, the book is just 90 pages and small enough to fit in a pocket or purse. Here is what Strunk says about omitting needless words:
"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."