The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition

by William Strunk Jr.

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, The King's English (Oxford University Press); Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, The Art of Writing (Putnam), especially the chapter, Interlude on Jargon; George McLane Wood, Suggestions to Authors (United States Geological Survey); John Lesslie Hall, English Usage (Scott, Foresman and Co.); James P. Kelley, Workmanship in Words (Little, Brown and Co.). In these will be found full discussions of many points here briefly treated and an abundant store of illustrations to supplement those given in this book.

Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write,

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.

In the names of business firms the last comma is omitted, as, Brown, Shipley & Co.

Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas. The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.

If a parenthetic expression is preceded by a conjunction, place the first comma before the conjunction, not after it. He saw us coming, and unaware that we had learned of his treachery, greeted us with a smile.

Always to be regarded as parenthetic and to be enclosed between commas (or, at the end of the sentence, between comma and period) are the following: (1) the year, when forming part of a date, and the day of the month, when following the day of the week: February to July, 1916. April 6, 1917. Monday, November 11, 1918. (2) the abbreviations etc. and jr. (3) non-restrictive relative clauses, that is, those which do not serve to identify or define the antecedent noun, and similar clauses introduced by conjunctions indicating time or place. The audience, which had at first been indifferent, became more and more interested.

The writer should be careful not to set off independent clauses by commas:

Place a comma before a conjunction introducing a co-ordinate clause. The early records of the city have disappeared, and the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed. The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.

Further, and is the least specific of connectives. Used between independent clauses, it indicates only that a relation exists between them without defining that relation.

But a writer may err by making his sentences too uniformly compact and periodic, and an occasional loose sentence prevents the style from becoming too formal and gives the reader a certain relief.

Two-part sentences of which the second member is introduced by as (in the sense of because), for, or, nor, and while (in the sense of and at the same time) likewise require a comma before the conjunction.

But these uses of so (equivalent to accordingly or to so that) are somewhat colloquial and should, as a rule, be avoided in writing. A simple correction, usually serviceable, is to omit the word so and begin the first clause with as or since: a) I had never been in the place before; so I had difficulty in finding my way about. b) As I had never been in the place before, I had difficulty in finding my way about.

Do not join independent clauses by a comma. If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon. Stevenson's romances are entertaining; they are full of exciting adventures. It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark. It is of course equally correct to write the above as two sentences each, replacing the semicolons by periods. Stevenson's romances are entertaining. They are full of exciting adventures. It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.

Note that if the second clause is preceded by an adverb, such as accordingly, besides, then, therefore, or thus, and not by a conjunction, the semicolon is still required.

Do not break sentences in two. In other words, do not use periods for commas. I met them on a Cunard liner several years ago. Coming home from Liverpool to New York.

A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject. Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children. The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman. If the writer wishes to make it refer to the woman, he must recast the sentence: He saw a woman accompanied by two children, walking slowly down the road.

Participial phrases preceded by a conjunction or by a preposition, nouns in apposition, adjectives, and adjective phrases come under the same rule if they begin the sentence. a) On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the station. b) When he arrived (or, On his arrival) in Chicago, his friends met him at the station. a) A soldier of proved valor, they entrusted him with the defence of the city. b) A soldier of proved valor, he was entrusted with the defence of the city. a) Young and inexperienced, the task seemed easy to me. b) Young and inexperienced, I thought the task easy. a) Without a friend to counsel him, the temptation proved irresistible. b) Without a friend to counsel him, he found the temptation irresistible. Sentences violating this rule are often ludicrous. a) Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheap. b) Wondering irresolutely what to do next, the clock struck twelve.

Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic. If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if you intend to treat it very briefly, there may be no need of subdividing it into topics. Thus a brief description, a brief summary of a literary work, a brief account of a single incident, a narrative merely outlining an action, the setting forth of a single idea, any one of these is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written, examine it to see whether subdivision will not improve it.

Ordinarily, however, a subject requires subdivision into topics, each of which should be made the subject of a paragraph.

The beginning of each paragraph is a signal to him that a new step in the development of th...

As a rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs. An exception may be made of sentences of transition, indicating the relation between the parts of an exposition or argument.

As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, end it in conformity with the beginning. Again, the object is to aid the reader. The practice here recommended enables him to discover the purpose of each paragraph as he begins to read it, and to retain this purpose in mind as he ends it. For this reason, the most generally useful kind of paragraph, particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which (a) the topic sentence comes at or near the beginning; (b) the succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the statement made in the topic sentence; and (c) the final sentence either emphasizes the thought of the topic sentence or states some important consequence.

Ending with a digression, or with an unimportant detail, is particularly to be avoided.

Use the active voice. The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive: I shall always remember my first visit to Boston. This is much better than My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

This rule does not, of course, mean that the writer should entirely discard the passive voice, which is frequently convenient and sometimes necessary.

The habitual use of the active voice makes for forcible writing.

Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by substituting a verb in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as there is, or could be heard. a) There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground. b) Dead leaves covered the ground. a) The sound of a guitar somewhere in the house could be heard. b) Somewhere in the house a guitar hummed sleepily. a) The reason that he left college was that his health became impaired. b) Failing health compelled him to leave college.

11. Put statements in positive form. Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion. a) He was not very often on time. b) He usually came late. a) He did not think that studying Latin was much use. b) He thought the study of Latin useless. a)

Consciously or unconsciously, the reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not; he wishes to be told what is. Hence, as a rule, it is better to express even a negative in positive form. not honest dishonest not importante trifling did not remembre forgot

12. Use definite, specific, concrete language. Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract. a) A period of unfavorable weather set in. b) It rained every day for a week. a) He showed satisfaction as he took possession of his well-earned reward. b) He grinned as he pocketed the coin. a) There is a general agreement among those who have enjoyed the experience that surf-riding is productive of great exhilaration. b) All who have tried surf-riding agree that it is most exhilarating.

the surest method of arousing and holding the attention of the reader is by being specific, definite, and concrete.

Critics have pointed out how much of the effectiveness of the greatest writers, Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, results from their constant definiteness and concreteness.

it is because of the definiteness of the details and the concreteness of the terms used. It is not that every detail is given; that would be impossible, as well as to no purpose; but that all the significant details are given, and not vaguely, but with such definiteness that the reader, in imagination, can project himself into the scene.

13. 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 writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that he make every word tell.

the question as to whether b) whether (the question whether) a) there is no doubt but that b) no doubt (doubtless) a) used for fuel purposes b) used for fuel a) he is a man who b) he

In especial the expression the fact that should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs. a) owing to the fact that b) since (because) a) in spite of the fact that b) though (although)

Who is, which was, and the like are often superfluous. a) His brother, who is a member of the same firm b) His brother, a member of the same firm

14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences. This rule refers especially to loose sentences of a particular type, those consisting of two co-ordinate clauses, the second introduced by a conjunction or relative. Although single sentences of this type may be unexceptionable (see under Rule 4), a series soon becomes monotonous and tedious.

15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form. This principle, that of parallel construction, requires that expressions of similar content and function should be outwardly similar.

The unskillful writer often violates this principle, from a mistaken belief that he should constantly vary the form of his expressions.

By this principle, an article or a preposition applying to all the members of a series must either be used only before the first term or else be repeated before each term. a) The French, the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese b) The French, the Italians, the Spanish, and the Portuguese

Correlative expressions (both, and; not, but; not only, but also; either, or; first, second, third; and the like) should be followed by the same grammatical construction, that is, virtually, by the same part of speech.

a) It was both a long ceremony and very tedious. b) The ceremony was both long and tedious. a) A time not for words, but action. b) A time not for words, but for action. a)

16. Keep related words together. The position of the words in a sentence is the principal means of showing their relationship. The writer must therefore, so far as possible, bring together the words, and groups of words, that are related in thought, and keep apart those which are not so related.

The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to the beginning. a) Wordsworth, in the fifth book of The Excursion, gives a minute description of this church. b) In the fifth book of The Excursion, Wordsworth gives a minute description of this church. a) Cast iron, when treated in a Bessemer converter, is changed into steel. b) By treatment in a Bessemer

17. In summaries, keep to one tense. In summarizing the action of a drama, the writer should always use the present tense. In summarizing a poem, story, or novel, he should preferably use the present, though he may use the past if he prefers.

In presenting the statements or the thought of some one else, as in summarizing an essay or reporting a speech, the writer should avoid intercalating such expressions as “he said,” “he stated,” “the speaker added,” “the speaker then went on to say,” “the author also thinks,” or the like. He should indicate clearly at the outset, once for all, that what follows is summary, and then waste no words in repeating the notification.

But in the criticism or interpretation of literature the writer should be careful to avoid dropping into summary.