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    Elements of Style
    Elements of Style
    Elements of Style
    Ebook82 pages59 minutes

    Elements of Style

    By William Strunk

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    About this ebook

    The Elements of Style (1918), by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, is an American English writing style guide. It is the best-known, most influential prescriptive treatment of English grammar and usage, and often is required reading and usage in U.S. high school and university composition classes. This edition of The Elements of Style details eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, "a few matters of form," and a list of commonly misused words and expressions.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStart Publishing LLC
    Release dateDec 10, 2012
    ISBN9781625585004

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    Reviews for Elements of Style

    4/5

    2,437 ratings85 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I'm one of those English majors who threw around "Strunk and White" knowingly, but had never read the book. So I decided to remedy that just a few years after graduation. As an English major, I think most of the knowledge in this book is things we learned in class, and therefore seems common sense to us. There is some interesting advice, but the rules I was the most unclear about were actually the ones that didn't have detailed explanations accompanying them, so that turned me off.
    • 5/5
      I am surprised that anyone would give this book a one-star rating, and yet some people have done that. I have no arguments with them, as we each have our own view of the books we read.For me, this is a brilliant book. I did not think that it would take me ten days to read 97 pages, but it did. The writing style is simple, and not a word is wasted. It was well worth the time I took to read the book carefully. The rules have been laid out in a simple manner, and the examples are clear. I like this book so much, that I ordered two paperback copies, one for my son and one for me. It is good to have this book as a handy reference. Prof Strunk seems to have been a man of exceptional clarity of thought, and this is reflected in the manner in which he has laid out the book, and given the examples. Mr White's section is a very useful addition. It adds to the value of the book. It is an essential guide to any aspiring writer.
    • 4/5
       This is one of the most important reference books for any student to own. I used it frequently during my college days, even still pull it down from the shelf from time to time. To the point, clearly written, it really is the perfect guide to writing.
    • 4/5
      In some circles, this little book is something of a raging debate. Is it anachronistic? It was written 80 years ago. Is it helpful? Most of my syllubi from various English professors/teachers have this as recommended reading.Because of the wild divergence in writing styles between different English dialects, genres (horror, westerns, romance) let alone between different classifications (creative, exposition, technical), there is no one book that can be pointed at as the style guide to have. Strunk & White, however, do come close despite some of the outdated advice. We rarely hyphenate a word at the end of a line---that was a typewriter thing. To-morrow is outmoded. The mistakes the average student makes today are very close to the ones Strunk found in the essays he read a century ago. Use consistent tense, use active voice, do not overwrite. The Elements of Style works across dialect and genre. An intelligent writer will find more helpful advice in this book than anything else.
    • 5/5
      The epitome of concise usage among English speaking writers. Only the best.
    • 5/5
      Always good to recap occasionally and give this a reread.
    • 4/5
      Best book on writing I have read so far! concise and easy to understand...
    • 5/5
      I can see why this is a classic. Short and to the point, this book is must for all writers. This title will be by my side whenever I write. Buy it! Learn it! Master it!
    • 5/5
      If you write ANYTHING...you need this book!
    • 5/5
      This may have been the first book I read on style. I read it from cover to cover and I'm sure it helped me get through essays.
    • 5/5
      The best book of it's kind, ever. Wins on substance, personality, and ease-of-putting-in-your-pocket. If you don't own this book then you should.
    • 5/5
      It is beyond me why schools insist on using anything else to teach grammar and style. My current copy is the 12th copy of it that I have had since I had the good fortune to run into it when I was a sophomore in high school.
    • 5/5
      Goes right to the basics with excellent ideas and examples.
    • 4/5
      Excellent, if a bit stodgy at moments.
    • 5/5
      A must have for any who consider themselves or aspire to be a writer... even those who wish to write "creatively" should know Strunk and White's rules by heart before they set about breaking them in the name of art.
    • 2/5
      This book is famous and well-loved by people who tend to be good writers anyway. Alas, the book's advice is somewhat dubious.
    • 5/5
      To seem effortless in one's writing, practice and attention to detail make for perfection.
    • 4/5
      I first read this before starting a creative writing & English course at university in 2009 and read it again at the end of my degree when I decided to become a proofreader (& later a copy-editor too).Some criticize this for being dated. In some respects it is. For example, one instruction is to write "some one" not "someone". This confused me at first, but further study of English style from more modern sources helped me define what rules were out of date in this book.Thus, my final verdict is that this is a good investment - even Stephen King has used it and recommends that all aspiring authors invest in a copy. A good story written with bad style is not really a good story after all.Amongst other things, this book guides you with writing well-structured sentences, advises how and when to use punctuation, and lists certain words that should be avoided for the sake of good form.The first time I read this I found it hard going, but it appeared much more straightforward upon a second reading. Bearing this in mind, a more modern book on style may be a better first choice for someone wanting to improve their form, but once they learn the basics then reading this should be worth their while.
    • 5/5
      Great style guide for non fiction and fiction. Tart rules for everything written.
    • 5/5
      A classic and it should be. Eliminate needless words. Be clear. Know the language and let it speak.
    • 5/5
      Really a wonderful guide. It's not just a guide, though! I actually read it front to back and the voice of these men blends and instructs with sharp wit and dry humor. There are one-liners here on writing that are priceless!
    • 5/5
      Indispensable.
    • 4/5
      The classic reference for writing style. Often useful.
    • 5/5
      A bit intense on grammar vocabulary, but beyond that, an invaluable handbook.
    • 4/5
      This little book is a great reminder of how easy it is to write in clear, plain English, but how it is just as easy to stumble into common pitfalls. Concrete, prescriptive and short, this book is a great quick reference. Witty and sometimes downright funny examples keep the reader's interest up. I will definitely have this handy little book by my side at the office. Administrative mumble jumble has become too common for me to fall prey to it. This will help me stay on the straight path!
    • 5/5
      A must have for anyone serious about writing.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books on writing fiction.
    • 5/5
      It astonishes me that at the age of 31 and a half, I've only just acquired Strunk and White. Everyone who is glad to own a dictionary should have this too. Classic reference work.
    • 5/5
      Classic. I remember seeing my first copy in seventh grade English class and thinking what a clever, handy little book. I think I've probably gone through a few copies of my own since then. Other style books may be bigger and cover more complex usage situations, but really, if you have Strunk and White the chances are good you can find an answer to your question.
    • 4/5
      Is this a flawed book?Of course. The style of prose it advocates was already out of date when it was published. It presents the taste of its authors' as inviolable laws, leading to painful contortions in the written language of those who try to follow it.As the previous sentence indicates, even in matters of simple punctuation I do not agree with The Elements of Style.And yet much of the advice is still solid. Even if you disagree with Strunk and White, it is better to have consciously rejected a rule than to have never considered the matter. There is also a surprising playfulness with language that appears between dour pronunciations. This side of The Elements of style was unknown to me prior to reading it, seemingly having been missed by both its detractors and fanatics.

    Book preview

    Elements of Style - William Strunk

    I. Introductory

    This book is intended for use in English courses in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style. It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention (in Chapters II and III) on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correcting manuscript.

    The book covers only a small portion of the field of English style, but the experience of its writer has been that once past the essentials, students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work, and that each instructor has his own body of theory, which he prefers to that offered by any textbook.

    The writer’s colleagues in the Department of English in Cornell University have greatly helped him in the preparation of his manuscript. Mr. George McLane Wood has kindly consented to the inclusion under Rule 11 of some material from his Suggestions to Authors.

    The following books are recommended for reference or further study: in connection with Chapters II and IV, F. Howard Collins, Author and Printer (Henry Frowde); Chicago University Press, Manual of Style; T. L. De Vinne Correct Composition (The Century Company); Horace Hart, Rules for Compositors and Printers (Oxford University Press); George McLane Wood, Extracts from the Style-Book of the Government Printing Office (United States Geological Survey); in connection with Chapters III and V, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, The Art of Writing (Putnams), especially the chapter, Interlude on Jargon; George McLane Wood, Suggestions to Authors (United States Geological Survey); John Leslie Hall, English Usage (Scott, Foresman and Co.); James P. Kelly, Workmanship in Words (Little, Brown and Co.).

    It is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric. When they do so, however, the reader will usually find in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at the cost of the violation. Unless he is certain of doing as well, he will probably do best to follow the rules. After he has learned, by their guidance, to write plain English adequate for everyday uses, let him look, for the secrets of style, to the study of the masters of literature.

    II. Elementary Rules of Usage

    1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's.

    Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write,

    Charles's friend

    Burns's poems

    the witch's malice

    This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press.

    Exceptions are the possessive of ancient proper names in -es and -is, the possessive Jesus', and such forms as for conscience' sake, for righteousness' sake. But such forms as Achilles' heel, Moses' laws, Isis' temple are commonly replaced by

    the heel of Achilles

    the laws of Moses

    the temple of Isis

    The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe.

    2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.

    Thus write,

    red, white, and blue

    gold, silver, or copper

    He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.

    This is also the usage of the Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press.

    In the names of business firms the last comma is omitted, as,

    Brown, Shipley & Co.

    3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.

    The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.

    This rule is difficult to apply; it is frequently hard to decide whether a single word, such as however, or a brief phrase, is or is not parenthetic. If the interruption to the flow of the sentence is but slight, the writer may safely omit the commas. But whether the interruption be slight or considerable, he must never insert one comma and omit the other. Such punctuation as

    Marjorie's husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday,

    or

    My

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