The Elements of Style Illustrated
by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White
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Read in January, 1999
I can't believe I didn't add this book sooner to my list of "old favorites". In my short writing career, this guide has been, on a few occasions, nothing short of a Godsend. Never have I come across a guide as concise, unfettered and approachable as Strunk and White, which was first recommended to me by my seventh grade English teacher. It is completely accessible across the board: for business writing, fiction writing, scholarly analysis. The rules within the pages are never simpl...more
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Read in August, 2006
Accept no substitute for the 3rd edition of this exceptional work. The 4th edition includes "improvements" (hah!) by some ghost writer who seems to think that the singular "they" is acceptable. Here, E. B. White expands on Strunk's earlier work, and produces a compact and effective writing and style guide, explaining some of the best and least known errors that creep into everyone's writing. Know the difference between nauseous and nauseated? Imply and infer? Tortuous an...more
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Read in January, 1998
A WORD OF APPRECIATION FOR A LOYAL FRIEND
In 1998, while attempting to polish my writing craft, I received this little book as a gift. I found it useful, both as a refresher, and for the many examples of the conventions that underlie good grammar.
I've since acquired and read other texts on the subject, but "The Elements of Style" is still in the bookstand on my desk and I use it as my "go to" source - exactly as the authors intended. If you know someone ...more
In 1998, while attempting to polish my writing craft, I received this little book as a gift. I found it useful, both as a refresher, and for the many examples of the conventions that underlie good grammar.
I've since acquired and read other texts on the subject, but "The Elements of Style" is still in the bookstand on my desk and I use it as my "go to" source - exactly as the authors intended. If you know someone ...more
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Read in January, 1979
recommends it for:
anyone who writes.
The gold standard. No more need be said than to quote Mr. Strunk's thoughts under the headline "Omit 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 reader make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell...more
"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 reader make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell...more
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Read in August, 2007
I'm a writer, and this book was written for those of us who write. The book is a teacher, tutoring you towards better prose. If you ever decide to buy this book, buy only, ONLY, the special edition with the red hardcover binding. It has much to do with the feel of the book itself. The special edition I actually got by accident- it was a requisite for school and there weren't any normal copies left. The reading is supplemented with artwork by an artist whose name eludes me. The "elements&quo...more
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As useful as ¨The Elements of Style¨ is as a guide and a handbook, I actually appreciate it more for it´s tone and style. It´s my misfortune that the vast majority of books I´ve read I´ve never been able to discuss with anyone, let alone another person who has read the same book. Having the ¨Elements of Style¨ nearby is like having a friend always at hand who loves what you love. After reading something I particularly like, and mourning the lack of a companion to be excited about it with...more
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There's not really two ways about this: you have to read this book. If you have to put words together to form sentences and ideas, you must read this book. It takes like an hour and a half and will help you for years to come. I read this book when I was sixteen, and it made me a better writer. Whenever I got stuck with an idea, I'd read my strunk and white not because it gave me ideas but because it was amusing and well-written. The fact that it was rarely out of my grasp was also a common reaso...more
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
Everyone
This is the oft-cited classic. If you haven't read it, read it. I know that seems an overly strong recommendation, but the value of this book's guidelines can't be understated.
Elements of Style contains the most valuable advice for any writer: “Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecssary sentences.”
Also, the chapter “Words and Expressions Commonly Misused” is not only helpfu...more
Elements of Style contains the most valuable advice for any writer: “Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecssary sentences.”
Also, the chapter “Words and Expressions Commonly Misused” is not only helpfu...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone who would like to hone their writing skills
The most important thing that I learnt from this book is that whatever I write, I could do so in half the words, with double the impact.
So, here's the rub. I'm verbose. I love long words and even longer sentences (back when word processors started to include things like readability indexes and grammar checkers, the one thing they always said was 'your sentences are too long'!). And, thanks to this book, now I know why!
This book is probably most useful to those who take a journalistic ...more
So, here's the rub. I'm verbose. I love long words and even longer sentences (back when word processors started to include things like readability indexes and grammar checkers, the one thing they always said was 'your sentences are too long'!). And, thanks to this book, now I know why!
This book is probably most useful to those who take a journalistic ...more
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Read in March, 2008
I swear these were the slowest 80 pages I've ever read. My God, this book is dry. I'm not saying I couldn't benefit from the info this book contains (yes, I know eliminating the not and going positive would be more concise -- like I said, I could use the help). I'm saying I only remember snippets because my mind went numb and blank. Hopefully, my subconscious captured some useful info (like maybe I'm not supposed to use hopefully -- if only I had been awake when I read that).
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This book--a jewel of brevity and conciseness--set the standard long before the term "Best Practice" came into vogue. It is apparent that Mr. Strunk's rules grew from love and respect of craft more so than pretension or preciousness. Also, Mr. White updates and dusts off his former instructor's work in a manner both reverent and humble. If you have one grammar/style reference in your backpack or on your desk, make it The Elements of Style. Re-read it often and you will start to use the...more
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Read in January, 1977
In eighth grade, to learn good grammar and writing, we were required to copy this book by hand, verbatim. This was a terrible way to teach, in my opinion, and the process left a bad taste in my mouth for this book. I admire EB White a great deal, but there are other good and creative books on the writing technique available that are less cut and dry. I recommend "Woe is I." I also recommend reading a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, and studying a foreign language for acquiring th...more
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Almost every book on writing will, at some point between its covers, mention this absolutely essential piece of reference material.
You may agree with the guidelines in it, or you may not. You may think that the rules are still unchanged and should remain unchanged, or you may not. You may see a new generation of style coming up to replace this, or you may not.
Whatever the case, some famous writer said, "know the rules well, and THEN decide when and if you want to break them".
So
You may agree with the guidelines in it, or you may not. You may think that the rules are still unchanged and should remain unchanged, or you may not. You may see a new generation of style coming up to replace this, or you may not.
Whatever the case, some famous writer said, "know the rules well, and THEN decide when and if you want to break them".
So
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recommends it for:
People who write technical manuals
Too "Text Bookie" and "Rulesy" for me. If you feel that writing comes from practice, but still need some guidance and motivation, try 'Writing Down the Bones' by Natalie Goldberg or 'If You Want to Write' by Brenda Ueland. If you like rules and structure, and maybe you do, Elements of Style is a great little book. The fact that it's small netted one star before I ever opened it. If yer spendin' all that time readin' volumous books on writin', dad blangit, you ain't writin'.
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Ok, its not fiction, and it basically is a grammer book, but I really liked it. The author takes a very snide and condescending stance towards poor grammer, calling many words bankrupt and bereft of meaning. He explains that the use of the "word" flammable should be reserved for cases were your target audience consists of truckers or illiterates. The best part is, while my review broke a lot of rules for good writing, at least I know which rules I broke now.
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Read in January, 1967
recommended to Maureen by:
English 101, University of Georgiarecommends it for: everyone
I wore a copy of this book out. Oh, sure, Strunk and White are dinosaurs, but they are dinosaurs who know an awfully lot about writing well. In a world where people no longer know how to diagram sentences or parse verbs (to their detriment) maybe this book is no longer considered useful. That may be the case, but when I look at the overwhelming amount of abstruse verbiage that I encounter on any given day, I long for the return of The Little Book,
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Five stars for importance, not for any emotional response. Covers all the basics and "style" in this context is obviously regarding straightforward, nonfictional writing, not creative writing. Dry as these things usually go, but the section on commonly misused words is pretty darn funny. "Do not, therefore, say 'I feel nauseous' unless you are sure you have that effect on others."
Excellent advice, sirs, excellent advice.
Excellent advice, sirs, excellent advice.
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recommends it for:
everyone trying to improve their writing
This review is really for the slim little paperback edition, which should be on every serious student's desk. The story behind the book is fascinating, but the content is beyond valuable. Strunk, and later his student, White, have boiled down the essence of English grammar, composition, and style to easily digested nuggets (forming the possessive of nouns ending in "s", using the active voice, writing naturally). USE THIS BOOK!
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i realy like this book because it was so good: it really aggravates me that people just dont appreciate style anymore. I'm not like inferring that any of my own friends don't write good; i'm not the type that would call that out in a public place like this. I was just so enthused to find a short and concise book that takes style seriously. I'd like to really study this book closer and improve my writing.
The end.
The end.
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My favorite graph in this book:
"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."
"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."
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