The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition

This classic style manuscript is only a few dollars but is worth its weight in gold. Why is that? Because it teaches you how to use words to form proper sentences. The result is writing that communicates a clear, robust and precise message. Good writing never leaves the reader bewildered. Instead, good writing arouses and holds the reader’s attention; it calls up mental pictures whose size exceeds the writing itself. Accordingly, Elements of Style equips the writer with greater technical skill and is overflowing with best practices. It also benefits your reader, who will no longer flounder in the sea of ambiguity. After reading this book, I now realize how bankrupt modern writing is; this includes my own writing. Elements has five parts: (I) Elementary Rules of Usage (II) Elementary Principles of Compositions (III) A Few Matters of Form (IV) Misused Words and Expressions (V) An Approach to Style. Parts I-IV deal with the science of writing. Part V deals with the art of writing. It is in parts I and II that you will find the famous “22 Rules.” These commandments provide timeless lessons such as (#16) “Use definite, specific, concrete language” and (#17) “Omit needless words.” Under each heading, the author gives a few examples of sentences that can be improved by application of the rule along with a one-page summary. As a bonus, the author has a style of writing that is sharp and witty. This creates a read that is both informative and entertaining. Overall, this small book can be finished quickly, but you will likely return to mine nuggets of literary wisdom many times. For any writer, this book is the type that you buy and keep in a permanent spot in your library.

I've been forced to lighten my book load over 23 household moves across several decades, but I'll never get rid of my vintage copy of EOS. I write and edit for a living, but even if I didn’t, I wouldn't donate this life-changing book. I don't use that adjective lightly. EOS taught me valuable lessons about what makes good writing. Good writing caused my career to take off. So yes, it changed my life. It's a small book, 85 pages. No words are wasted. Contents are divided into well-defined areas: Elementary Rules of Usage, Elementary Principles of Composition, A Few Matters of Form, Words and Expressions Commonly Misused, and An Approach to Style. This last helped me the most. As an English major many years ago, I understood the rules of language such as grammar, sentence structure, etc., but long after I left graduate school I was still developing a sense for style. It's best not to leave style to the fickleness of your creative muse. Authors William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White revealed to me why certain ways of writing irritate the reader, something I had known all along, but only in the back of my mind. Their assertions brought these irritants to the forefront, and oh how my writing improved when I scrubbed them from my pages. EOS is well titled: "Elements," meaning it focuses on the basic, discrete parts of writing, the foundation of any composition. If you get these wrong, everything is wrong; therefore EOS is an ideal book if you are just starting as a writer. Writing instructors know this. EOS is required reading in many entry-level college composition classes. For easy reference it contains an index and is written in simple language. It’s designed for newbies. You need this book whether you write professionally or limit your essays to arguing with strangers on Facebook. I highly recommend that everyone read it annually. I do.

This is the Strunk and White edition, not just the Strunk Edition. I have that one too because I'm (among other things) a book editor. But if you want to know the elements of a clean, clear writing style, and you're willing to invest your time in a thin little book that says it all, this is the one you want, in the edition you want. Long after Professor Strunk had passed on, White (writer of children's books so good they were made into movies) and something of a word maven, this is well-organized, comprehensive and a whole lot more fun than the Chicago or AP or even Oxford Style Guides - my wife and I have all three, because, like I said, we are book editors. It really is a classic that has stood the test of time. I especially like the beginning, where they explain that the English language evolves, and there is no one body that regulates what or how English should look or work - and though the original is 110 years old this year, the Strunk & White edition is, IMO, the best of the bunch. Inexpensive and comprehensive, and very easy to follow, get this book if you're a writer or want to became one. Going without this volume is like being an epic novelist without having at least pretended to read Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey or The Hero with a Thousand Faces. All the great stories, from the Illiad to Star Wars, follows Campbell's pattern closely, because it's worked for at least 4,000 years (depending on the first-published date of Gilgamesh, the first Epic Poem (or first epic novel). At least he had a good idea - strive for immortality.

This book can easily double your proficiency in English composition. There are exhaustive books and multi-volume sets that will delve into the peculiarities and nuances of the English language, whereas this one will give you the essentials. Strunk and White do have some opponents in the finer points of English usage, but for the most part this is an accepted primer on the subject. Part 1 is essentially a recap of the most commonly abused rules. How to use parentheses, possessive nouns, commas, colons, cases, hyphens, participles, are a few of the addressed topics. Even if you're a decent writer who doesn't misuse a few of these elements, it's still beneficial to know the rules behind their proper usage. Some naturally know where a comma goes in a sentence, but explaining it is another matter. Part 2 Is about composition. Voice, tense, tone, paragraphs, and connecting ideas are the primary topics here. Additionally, Strunk and White introduce and develop their characteristic minimalism in writing. How can we omit needless words, pare down our paragraphs, and become effective writers by sticking to the main points of argument? They can help. Part 4 is more about misused phrases and words. There are a bunch of homonyms, idioms, and homophones that give people trouble in writing. Do you know when to use pare or pear, bare or bear, less or fewer? They give you the proper usage and a few tricks to remember their use. Parts 3 and 5 are concerned with developing an individual style in writing. They use the principles of strong writing to aid the reader in developing a subjective style. This may seem counterintuitive; the rules are objective but the style is subjective. But by learning the essentials of style, you have the ability to contemplate how you would personally expand these principles to achieve your own voice. Would you prefer a terse and staccato style or a whimsical and flowery style? It really should be handed out to anyone planning on attending university. Too many of today's students are awful writers, and it's simply because they haven't been taught. This can help.

This book changed how I write and think about writing. It is less content focused but is invaluable as a writer for considering execution.

Attention high school students about to graduate, job applicants, aspiring attorneys and diplomats, or anyone who has written a love letter: the struggle for accurate expression can be a bittersweet challenge, but it must be taken up. All of society depends on it. Written expression is the oil in social machinery. Failure to make a coherent point can be devastating to purpose. To sum it up succinctly: language matters. The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, is the standard volume for linguistic clarification. Short, comprehensive, and indispensable, it is the definitive source for its subject. The greater your understanding and use of language, the greater your power to define terms and control events. Language mimics a living organism. Language has character and identity. Though its rules can be vague and full of contradictions, language should be effectively understood to be knowledgeably used. Somewhat magically, The Elements of Style directly answers most questions of usage. Improper usage is painful to see written, and lands with a dull thud when heard in the ear of the knowledgeable. For example, a common mistake in usage, is to say “Between he and I.” The word “between” is a preposition, and therefore takes a third person pronoun. Properly stated, the phrase is “Between him and me.” The proper use of that and which, and further and farther is swiftly explained, as well as the accurate use of punctuation when using parentheses. This small compendium is divided into five parts: Elementary Rules of Usage, Elementary Rules of Composition, A Few Matters of Form, Words and Expressions Commonly Misused, and An Approach to Style (with a list of reminders). The authors offer practical advice but acknowledge that writing well is a mysterious process. First rate writers are rarely satisfied with their work. Norman Mailer wrote, “Good writing is not an act to inspire confidence because it is good, but anguish because it is not better.” This may be because variables are infinite and good style eludes definition. Writers express genius and craft in varying degrees. Craft can be taught; genius is innate and cannot be taught. The authors offer modest avowal: “There is no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly…writers will often find themselves steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.” For the majority of the ungifted, which is to say most of us, The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, is an indispensable volume, and should be, like a dictionary, within arm’s reach. —Tom Casey

Para la universidad de hija

Still a classic….

Je l'ai bien recu. C'est un guide court mais vraiment excellent. En anglais et très bien écrit. A lire avec celui de S King sur on writing. C'est motivant et il ne reste plus qu'à écrire... tous les jours une ou deux pages, ou plus. C'est en écrivant qu'on devient écrivain. Surtout ne vous découragez pas, vous le faites pour vous!

It's written beautifully

Un libretto di poche decine di pagine pieno di ottimi consigli per scrivere bene, cioè con efficacia, stile e correttezza. Da tenere come testo di consultazione assieme agli altri bei libri sulla scrittura efficace: "On Writing" di S. King, "Writing Tools" di R.P.Clark, "Scrivere bene" di W. Zinsser. E' disponibile anche la traduzione italiana, ma l'originale rimane insuperabile.

Great reading. Very helpful!

The best book on the practical use of the English language. Essential for all university students and for anybody who wishes to speak and write English using correct grammar.