The elements of style: A style guide for writers

by William Strunk Jr.

book data

3112 ratings, 4.42 average rating, 452 reviews (more data...)

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published

December 16th 2005 (first published 1979) by KT Publishing

binding

Paperback, 64 pages

isbn

097522980X (isbn13: 9780975229804)

description

The elements of style: a style guide for writers - the original 1918 text from William Strunk.

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Elizabeth rated it:

(review of isbn 0143112724)

09/25/08

bookshelves: 2008, non-fiction, on-language, twentieth-century-early-to-mid

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Elizabeth by: Graham

I have a confession --

I like grammar books.

Now, I don't usually like the ranting of old, white men who clearly don't have better things to do with their time. Usually, I want to hurl their books about. Usually, I'm all about the clever undermining of the status quo. But I like clear writing, and with few exceptions until very recently (such as the brilliant Karen Elizabeth Gordon), this means hanging out with some of t...more I have a confession --

I like grammar books.

Now, I don't usually like the ranting of old, white men who clearly don't have better things to do with their time. Usually, I want to hurl their books about. Usually, I'm all about the clever undermining of the status quo. But I like clear writing, and with few exceptions until very recently (such as the brilliant Karen Elizabeth Gordon), this means hanging out with some of the grumpiest, most conservative, and self-righteous old men. I'm talking about the white guys who you would think are out oppressing the natives when they're not drafting letters to The Times of London admonishing the editor's choice of comma instead of a semi-colon. William Strunk Jr. probably wasn't into oppressing natives, but he was a grumpy old college professor, and he did go down to the college's publications office to complain about the use of "alumni" instead of "studentry" (like citizenry). This is the guy you want to teach you grammar!

He is not the guy you want to teach you style. You'll end up doing a bad impersonation of Times-letter-writer guys. So the clever publisher asked E. B. White to write that part. It is a wonderful essay about trust and caution. Be cautious about discarding Professor Strunk's little rules because, whether a genius or no, you must provide your reader with clear prose. You owe it to your readers to make the language simple and correct so that they can focus on the ideas, your style, your language. They trust you to provide them with clear concept. You must become comfortable enough with the rules to trust yourself that you will only deviate from them when you expand the language by doing so.

I love being taught rules, and reminded that I'm allowed to shake them off, in the same book. I might disregard them more often than my writing can support, but that is why I like grammar books. I like the reminders. I like thinking about how to write and why. It can only improve how I write.

White says at the end:

Style takes its final shape more from attitudes of mind than from principles of composition, for, as an elderly practicioner once remarked, 'Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.' This moral observation would have no place in a rule book were it not that style is the writer, and therefore what you are, rather than what you know, will at last determine your style.

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11 comments

Kenny rated it:

(review of isbn 0205313426)

10/14/07

bookshelves: writing-craft

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

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Karima rated it:

(review of isbn )

06/25/08

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: Those who cherish language.

What a beautiful, slim volume of wisdom and written elegance.
I highly recommend this edition with illustrations by Maira Kalman. It has been, according to Roger Angell who writes the forward, "modestly" updated from the original, published in the WW 1 era.
Get this book. Give this book. Refer to this book over and over again.

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David rated it:

(review of isbn )

04/27/08

Read in April, 2008

This book is a bit of a mess, ironically, but is worth reading. My natural style is... somewhat baroque. I wanted to pick up some tips on writing more clearly, since my goal is more often communication than art. The first few sections of the book are great, and the examples are quite helpful (in addition to being amusing). Nonetheless, there are many problems with this book.

Section IV, on the use of words and phrases, is comically idiosyncratic. One of my pet peeves is the instance that wor...more

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Marco rated it:

(review of isbn )

03/15/08

bookshelves: reference

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Marco by: Tricia
recommends it for: everyone, particularly writers.

This book shows established rules of English grammar. He is opinionated in some rules, however. The "little book" will help to guide you in writing; Strunk knows exactly what a writer has to do to make writing effortless. Although style is subjective and there are no established rules for style, he reminds us that a certain combination of words can stir a reader deeply, while another combination of the same words is dull. All writers have their own style, but only some are "clearl...more

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Nathaniel rated it:

(review of isbn 0024181900)

08/13/07

bookshelves: top10nonfiction, writing

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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1 comment

Mansoor added it (review of isbn 0205313426)

04/20/07

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

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Happyreader rated it:

(review of isbn 0205313426)

03/14/08

bookshelves: writing

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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Daniel rated it:

(review of isbn 020530902X)

08/09/07

"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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Jim rated it:

(review of isbn 0205313426)

11/12/08

bookshelves: classics, non-fiction

Everyone thinks of this as a book for writers, but today, most of us are. We write to communicate through email, memos & letters. Everyone can benefit by reading this book. It looks quite short & slim, but that is deceiving, like Kern & Ritchie's book on C. They fit a LOT into a small package & it takes practice & referral to get the basics down.

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Patricia added it (review of isbn )

05/21/07

bookshelves: english

This book is good for the following things:

1. Propping up a short table leg

2. Lining a bird cage

3. Building a fire

4. Using as a coaster for cold drinks

I devoted some of my grammar thesis to criticizing this book, and it was time well spent.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

5 comments

Graham rated it:

(review of isbn 0205313426)

07/01/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in September, 1990

recommends it for: English speakers, writers, clever spiders

This is the thing every naccent writer should pick up prior to picking their pen. That goes double for seasoned writers. That goes double for seasoned writers. That goes double for seasoned writers.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

3 comments

reed rated it:

(review of isbn 0143112724)

03/11/08

The Elements of Style is a great book. I'd hoped that the illustrations would make it a better book, but they didn't add much to the experience.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

2 comments

Damara rated it:

(review of isbn )

08/23/07

recommends it for: everyone

This book is a simply written guide, that I've been using for several years, and not just to throw at people who write pretentiously.

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Leland rated it:

(review of isbn 020530902X)

10/11/08

bookshelves: language, writing

Read in October, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone

This is my absolute favorite "reference" book.

The Elements of Style is a 90 page book that contains the wisdom of many volumes. The book seeks to instruct writers, not to train grammarians. Its presentation is direct, laconic, and intended to inspire concision and clarity in writing.

Hefty English grammar books enumerating the structures and variances of forms are plentiful. This is not one of them. William Strunk and E.B. White no doubt marveled at the intricacy of English, bu...more

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Tiara rated it:

(review of isbn 0205313426)

09/19/08

Read in January, 1983

recommends it for: unapologetic grammar police; all who speak and write in English; you!

Graduating from middle school, my Literature professor gave me this book as a reward for my achievements in his class. I think fondly of this memory and am grateful for his thoughtfulness and belief in my abilities.

Twenty-five years later the rules of grammar and style have broadened, but what this book gave to me is a lifelong respect for precise communication regardless of the vagaries of English style.

One must first know the rules, to break them.

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. ...more

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Beth rated it:

(review of isbn 0205313426)

08/19/08

bookshelves: writing-books

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Beth by: required reading for a class
recommends it for: no one!

I hated, hated, HATED this book! Talk about literary elitism at its worst. This book annoyed me to no end because the entire tone of this book was, "If you write like this or if you say this, then it's wrong." So much of what was written in the "Improperly used words" section could be completely argued that language has evolved to the point where many of these rules don't apply anymore. I also didn't like the imperative manner in which it was written. Don't order me to d...more

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Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0024182001)

06/16/08

bookshelves: 2008-books-read, non-fiction

Read in June, 2008

I don't agree with all Mr. Strunk's grammar, punctuation, and word usage rules. Much can change in a language between 1919 and 2008. Many of the nearly 100-year-old pet peeves of Mr. Strunk don't sound wrong to our modern ears. Thusly, I ~~shall~~ will use "like" as much as I want. I will also never write "Charles's" instead of "Charles'". I would hate to have Mr. Strunk as an English teacher marking up my essays because one cannot come to a mutual agreeme...more

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4 comments

Kayla rated it:

(review of isbn 0205313426)

01/28/08

bookshelves: oldfavorites

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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Kyle rated it:

(review of isbn 0606033491)

10/30/08

Read in May, 2008

This little book provides instructions on how to use grammar correctly and how to write concisely. Many rules will seem outdated to the reader of today. Is there still a debate amongst intellectuals as to whether or not one should use "like" in place of "as"? Nonetheless, Strunk's belief that one must, above all, take a stand when writing is inspiring. I've read many art reviews and letters to the editor where I've felt some Strunkian constraints were needed. Like the author,...more