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    The Elements of Style
    The Elements of Style
    The Elements of Style
    Ebook109 pages1 hour

    The Elements of Style

    By William Strunk

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    Editor's Note

    Make every word tell…

    Strunk's celebration of clarity, accuracy, and brevity is as relevant (and useful) today as it was when it was published nearly a century ago, proving that crisp, lucid prose never goes out of style.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateJan 1, 1918

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    Reviews for The Elements of Style

    4/5

    2,460 ratings90 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.
    • 5/5
      To seem effortless in one's writing, practice and attention to detail make for perfection.
    • 5/5
      One of two books I keep in my laptop case. Not exhaustive, but very handy.
    • 5/5
      Indispensable.
    • 5/5
      A unique book worth memorizing
    • 5/5
      Great style guide for non fiction and fiction. Tart rules for everything written.
    • 3/5
      This style manual offers practical advice on improving writing skills. Throughout, the emphasis is on promoting a plain English style. This little book can help you communicate more effectively by showing you how to enliven your sentences.
    • 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
      Always good to recap occasionally and give this a reread.
    • 4/5
      A short, concise, and practical reference for those who want to improve their writing skills.
    • 4/5
      Nearly a century on it remains an excellent guide to clear communication, though time has rendered the tone prescriptive enough to make you want to commit the occasional atrocity to the language just to annoy the long dead author.
    • 3/5
      Great book, however I disagree with their opposition to the use of singular "they".
    • 4/5
      This is a must to read if not to own and reference. The updated version gives further insight and explanation, but overall the information remains valid for writers in the modern day. I refer to this when needed or when instructing writing.
    • 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
      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
      I got this book over a year ago, and refer to it again and again. And again. While not a thick book, this book is essential in being able to write properly, even if you just want to write an email. And one of the best things about it (to me), is its explantions on commas and apostrophes, and all those nebulous areas of grammar.
    • 4/5
      I read more criticism than support of "The Elements of Style", and most of the complaints are valid. Regardless of its faults it should not be ignored or forgotten. While not always technically correct its advice is brief, direct, and positive. Don't take it too seriously and it can't hurt you.

      If you write, read it.
    • 4/5
      Every writer should read this. It's short and sweet, but you'll still get something out of it in addition to the joy of checking it off of your To Read list.
    • 2/5
      It has some good advice on writing and some terrible lies about grammar.
    • 5/5
      A bit intense on grammar vocabulary, but beyond that, an invaluable handbook.
    • 4/5
      This is still the best short guide to English grammar and usage, although you could argue with a few points.
    • 3/5
      A fairly boring read - the book is just a long list of grammar and style suggestions - but a decent reference to check every now and then. That said, if you already know what to look for, a google search is likely more effective. Therefore, a quick read through of this sort of book may be useful to know what questions to ask.
    • 5/5
      How did I ever get out of high school without having to read this book? At any rate, it is small enough that no student, ever, should be allowed to graduate without having read it!And, surprisingly, it is quite readable. Who knew? the 4th edition has been updated to reflect modern slang and other 'with-it-isms' students should be on the lookout for. Oops. Just ended that sentence with a preposition. Tsk, tsk.
    • 5/5
      Classic book on usage, composition, form and style, it's less than 100 pages and is a miracle of lucidity and succinctness. Most memorable rule? Easy: 13. Omit needless words.
    • 5/5
      So I read this about 5 or 6 times and then CLEP'ed English comp 1. Great book that simply explains the things you need to know to communicate well in writing. :)
    • 3/5
      Not as good as blurb suggests.
    • 3/5
      This is a great pocket style guide almost. It covers all of the basics and is good for looking up quick writing references. It is not nearly complete so it is only good for general information.
    • 5/5
      The Bible of writing. In fact, more Library Thing members have this Bible than the King James Bible. I checked.
    • 4/5
      A very solid book to resolve grammar issues. I believe it's a must read for current and future academics.

    Book preview

    The Elements of Style - William Strunk

    The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Elements of Style, by William Strunk

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

    almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

    re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

    with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

    Title: The Elements of Style

    Author: William Strunk

    Release Date: August 19, 2011 [EBook #37134]

    Language: English

    *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE ***

    Produced by Jana Srna and the Online Distributed

    Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was

    produced from images generously made available by The

    Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

    Transcriber's Notes:

    Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation.

    Some corrections of spelling and punctuation have been made. They are marked like this

    in the text. The original text appears when hovering the cursor over the marked text. A list of amendments is at the end of the text.

    THE

    ELEMENTS OF STYLE

    BY

    WILLIAM STRUNK, Jr.

    PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

    IN

    CORNELL UNIVERSITY

    NEW YORK

    HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY

    COPYRIGHT, 1918, 1919, BY

    WILLIAM STRUNK, JR.

    COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY

    HARCOURT, BRACE AND HOWE, INC.

    THE MAPLE PRESS YORK PA

    CONTENTS

    I. INTRODUCTORY

    This book 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. In accordance with this plan it lays down three rules for the use of the comma, instead of a score or more, and one for the use of the semicolon, in the belief that these four rules provide for all the internal punctuation that is required by nineteen sentences out of twenty. Similarly, it gives in Chapter III only those principles of the paragraph and the sentence which are of the widest application. The book thus covers only a small portion of the field of English style. 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 may prefer to that offered by any textbook.

    The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correcting manuscript.

    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 10 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, 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.

    It is an old observation that

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