This from Dr. Robert Bolan of the LAGLC. 

I agree with Rob’s choices of writing references. Strunk & White and Zinnser are indispensable and, perhaps not so surprisingly, they are written well enough so they actually can be read and not only used as quick lookup sources. Of course there are others but these are touchstones of proper English grammar and word usage.

So much of good writing, as Rob suggests, is trying to achieve absolute clarity with the words you choose and how you string them together. Economy is a sacred principle in good writing. Use the right words and use as few as possible. Also, rearrange sentences to get the flow right. For guidance on these skills I like Getting the Words Right: How to Revise, Edit & Rewrite by Theodore A. Rees Cheney. For assistance in technical writing there are several references. I like Merriam-Webster’s Manual for Writers & Editors. For sheer brilliance and clarity of advice, check out Robertson Davies’ Reading and Writing, a slim volume you can read in two or three sessions (read slowly, let sink in, do not gulp this one down). And finally, I offer my fervent belief that scientific writing, although requiring parsimony and precision, need not be dry and devoid of style. Read anything by John Gardner on writing, Stephen King on writing, Eudora Welty on writing, or any novelist or essayist whose style you admire. And then when you’re done with all that, read Paradise Lost—aloud—not for comprehension but for the sheer thunderous music of it. Philip Pullman, who wrote the introduction to my edition of Milton’s masterpiece, remarked that "the experience of reading poetry aloud when you don’t fully understand it is a curious and complicated one. It’s like suddenly discovering you can play the organ." You will likely be thinking that poetry has nothing to do with scientific writing. I disagree. All writing exists for the purpose of communication. Again, scientific writing need not be sterile—although that often appears to be the gold standard for editors. If you have something important to say, you must say it clearly, of course. But cadence and musicality, sparingly used, can deliver your meaning with an elegance that will, unbeknownst to the reader, nestle it into place with crystal clarity. Compose, don’t just write.

Obsessive attention to nuance and detail in writing can be a curse as well as a virtue, and every true writer can identify with the following. A friend of Oscar Wilde’s is reported to have asked him what he did yesterday.  Wilde replied: "In the morning I took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back in again."

Me again regarding this last: A wonderful short essay on being too critical of yourself early in the writing process is Gail Godwin's The Watcher at the Gate. 

I'm editing a generally well written, near-final draft of a biostatistics paper. Worth broadcasting are several writing problems that occur in almost all grad student writing. 

• Don't denigrate your contributions. 
  • Original: A simple way to achieve this ... 
  • Edit: A way to achieve this ...
  • Comment: Be respectful of your contributions. Are you so close to your own solution you can't see how important it is? Perhaps you've forgotten how innovative your solution was, given how long you've been living with it. Modesty, either real or false is not rewarded in academia. Besides, if you're really a scientist (and you are if you're a statistician), honesty is an important characteristic. Being honest about the importance of your work may not be easy, but it is important. Your work may be mathematically simple, but if you describe your idea as simple, readers will assume you meant that the idea is trivial.
• Don't represent,
  • Original:  ... [statement of key idea] because this represents [key idea alternative] ...
  • Edit: ... [key idea] because this is [key idea alternative] ...
  • Comment: Represents is wishy-washy and could imply any of a number of relationships. Be firm. If A and B are the same thing, say A is B, not A represents B. 
• Use the same language every time. ​
  • First Original: dispersion around $x$
  • Second Original: dispersion
  • ​Edit both times: dispersion around $x$ 
  • Comment: Apparently in the original text, there can be more than one dispersion.  Describing the dispersion as "around $x$", implies there are or could be other kinds of dispersions not around $x$. Thus the need to keep the modifier in repeated useage.  
• Plot don't Show
  • Original: Figure 2 shows ...
  • Edit: Figure 2 plots ...
  • Comment: Or: Figure 2 is ... . Figure 2 doesn't show anything if you're not well enough educated to understand the plot in the first place. Figure 2 contains the plot, but Figure 2 doesn't show anything. 

To my wonderful students: These paragraphs are a revision of advice recently given to a student writer. 

Writing is a craft we all must master. And we all will. You are young: enthusiasm and energy come through in your writing: keep that and add to it. Become a better writer by growing as a writer and as a person. It took me time to become a decent writer. I hope you become better than me, and in less time. Every paper, report, memo, email, text is opportunity: take it and become a better writer.

The best writing instruction ever: Good writing is bad writing rewritten. I got it from Stephen King. Where Stephen King got it, I don't know. I'm giving it to you. You tell your students.

Write your first draft. Now go back, edit and revise. Rinse and repeat. 

Academics must write with accuracy. Compulsively read and re-read each sentence you write and game the sentence: Pretend to be an intelligent reader, but ignorant of the background. Search for multiple interpretations. Many first drafts have multiple meanings. Then put your re-write hat on and fix the sentence. One sentence at a time. Ditto: Does this sentence say what you want it to say? Ditto: Does this sentence belong here? Or elsewhere in this paper? Or in a different paper altogether? 

Density. Good writing has high information content per word. Find the words that don't convey meaning and delete them. You can eliminate 10% of the words from a first draft. Now go back and eliminate another 10%. Have you said something before? Delete it.

Writing is work. Successful writing: a pleasure.