The Elements of Style, Third Edition Indexed Edition

by William Strunk Jr. (Author), E. B. White (Author)

143 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0024181909

ISBN-10: 0024181900

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The only style manual ever to appear on the best-seller lists offers practical, fundamental advice on improving writing skills, promoting a style marked by simplicity, orderliness, and sincerity

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A masterpiece in the art of clear and concise writing, and an exemplar of the principles it explains.

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Buy it, study it, enjoy it. It's as timeless as a book can be in our age of volubility. -- The New York Times

The work remains a nonpareil: direct, correct, and delightful. -- The New Yorker

Product details

Publisher : Macmillan; Indexed edition (January 1, 1979)
Language : English
Hardcover : 85 pages
ISBN-10 : 0024181900
ISBN-13 : 978-0024181909
Item Weight : 7.1 ounces
Dimensions : 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #730 in Writing Skills Reference
- #1,259 in Business Encyclopedias
- #2,257 in Rhetoric (Books)

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143 ratings

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PRNLM

Want to be a good writer? This is the only book you need.

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2019

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This short but profoundly useful and insightful book is the holy text of good writers everywhere.

In a few short and at times surprising pages, it tells you everything that you need to know to be a good writer. That's why this book has been assigned for generations by college English and writing instructors everywhere.

Don't get me wrong, it's an infuriating book at times. It gives you real rules, and at times it feels as though they're either overstated, wrong, or at the very least needlessly difficult to comply with. The first few times you refer to the book, you'll find yourself trying to come up with exceptions for these rules, or refusing to take them seriously because they're too simplistic, or they don't make exceptions for your obviously unusual case, or whatever.

As you mature into a better writer, though, you'll realize that the authors are right. There really aren't any exceptions. Like a good editor, this book is looking out for your readers, not for your need to express yourself or make your writing job easier. And by looking out for your readers, this book makes it easier for you to *get read.*

I've given this book away so many times I can't count, especially to talented young people who it's clear *could* be good writers, but didn't quite yet *get it.*

If that sounds like you, get ahold of this book. Resist the urge to make exceptions for yourself and your own writing as you read it. You're not that special. Nobody is. Follow the rules outlined here. Practice at it for months or years.

Then, come out the other end as twice or ten times the writer that you were going in.

2 people found this helpful

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AuntMary

Surprisingly helpful

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2018

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I heard about this book in high school and thought "Wow, a book about grammar and correct sentence structure. Gonna give that a miss." I'm an idiot. I finally got a copy of this because I'm working on my writing skills. It's short, it's to the point. Slow down and don't worry about the sentence structure from a different, slower era. Just take the advice on writing clearly, descriptively, and in a manner that makes your readers pay attention. Learn not to make a fool of yourself in front of more learned editors. I actually go over this when I'm relaxing, hoping to absorb all the information and incorporate it into my writing.

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Oxford

Critical Review: Whether it is still valid for today

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2013

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How does one account for authoritative advice on writing style? While styles of writing vary according to each writer's own preference some guidelines are inevitable to enhance writing clearer for readers. William Strunk's The Elements of Styles has been loved and considered to be one of authoritative manual for writers on this regard. Now deceased former English professor of Cornell University, Strunk provided writers eleven rules of usage (chapter one) and eleven principles of composition (chapter two) along with few other tips and reminders in the rest of the book. Thus Strunk's central claim for clarity of writing comes from concision and precision. However since it has been more than fifty years it was first published, should Strunk's assertions considered to be still valid? Has it praised with sacrifice of creativity? Beginning with a brief summary this review will examine several critical issues addressed in the book such as "should passive voice indicative verb be avoided at all cost?"

[Summary]
"Vigorous writing is concise...., but that every word tell" E.B. White who became the coauthor who expanded Strunk's work called this as "master[ly] Strunkian elaboration" (xv). The authors of Element of Style not only obsessed with words but also pleaded writers not to waste any word. Their calling of writers to concise and precise writing has been appealing for half century. They begin Style from specific rules of guidance to broad and thematic traits for composition. Readers learn about how to use commas for listings, how to write dates and common abbreviations, use of restrictive clauses, when to break clauses--and how to break them--, why one should not use `s (apostrophe s) when related to Moses and Jesus but use it in other cases even if the word ends in -s.
Then in the second chapter the authors toned down a little dealing with principles of English composition. Unlike the first chapter, which originally had seven rules but expanded into eleven, this chapter preserved its original eleven principles from Strunk. He suggested principles that many of them now became a kind of norm for most academic writings: begin a paragraph with a topic sentence; use positive language; use definite, specific, and concrete language if available; avoid a successive loose construction; group conjunctions in similar tone; keep related word together, and also keep the same tense throughout if possible; push your emphasis toward the end of a sentence.

In the next three chapters White tried to catch time by supplementing recent and relevant materials to consider for modern writers. Few matters of form (chapter 3) is a culmination of writing tips that can only be found in fragments in various sources. Chapter four "Misused Words and Expressions" so useful that even Grammar Girl often makes reference to some of them. What could have been lacking for a clear writing in 1950s has been supplemented by these last three chapters through White's revision, and even critical readers cannot deny their usefulness to find information in one book.

[Critical Evaluation]
The unseen success of Style motivated many similar works to follow. Probably three more well-known classics followed its success would be John R. Trimble's Writing with Style, William Zinsser's On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, and Joseph M. Williams' (or Williams's) Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace. Tremble began stressing that writing is a simple conversation between author and his reader. He emphasized, unless Strunk, importance of personal characteristic and creative style of the author which readers appreciate more than rigid style. Giving more authority to readership seemed to continue in the field of giving advice for writing, as if some writers were unhappy with Strunk, with a new book from Zinsser writing is something that cannot be contained in rules and principles but endless craftsmanship. Nevertheless, next two decades from 1980s toward the beginning of the new millennium more students became incompetent in their writing styles and such a tendency called for more strict guidelines. Another huge success of Style by Joseph Williams questions if writing is another discipline to be learned and followed under certain equations like mathematics or it is a privileged realm of some people naturally know how to write well.

Strunk and other authors do not necessarily compete each other to push across their thesis, but writers--who are main readers of their works--still struggle to find clear advice on their writings. It is only a matter of degree whether this confusion would be greater without works like Strunk or even with it. Overall in many ways Strunk's work cannot be avoided or neglected for any serious writer, because he not only proposed a specific way to a better writing. It was a bold--if not audacious--thesis that he brought into discussion in the first place. It has been useful to students, publishers, editors, and other professional writers, and now with lack of literary competency of new generation of students its need seems to be imperative again. With wide spread of Internet usage someone, like Strunk, must tell students "do's and don'ts" for their poor writings for Internet totally substituted personalized jargons with words with concision and precision.

That said, I think that few things suggested in the book should be scrutinized more critically such as use of the first person pronoun (e.g., "I" in this sentence), passive voice indicative verb (e.g., "be scrutinized"), gender-neutral pronouns, and splitting of infinitives. Especially the use of an active voice verb seems imperative in writing for it is preferred and suggested by all writers discussed above. Strunk and White asserted, "The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive." Their central claim for Style seems to cohere with this point as well. However, if readers seems to deserve more elaborated description about the passive, because these authors are not arguing for all writings but from general perspective. Such as writing for the field of science, legal, politics, history and any disciplines require unbiased and rational fact-report should allow passive voice, if not even prefer it, to be equal option for composition. And (by the way this would be another strike for common rules of writing to begin with a conjunction "and") the Bible has this strong passive called theological passive that whenever the agent is God the Scripture uses passive even omitting the subject. For example, the beatitudes in Matthew 5 are all in this theological passive yet no one ever complains it weaker than active. Readers tend to consider it warranted that Strunk's Style lists absolute rules, but authors do not seem to profess that. Therefore, readers should read Style critically just like any other books they read thus.
Conclusion

"Little book" as Style is first called even through revisions it remains little in size, but its impact and challenge have grown to be undeniable in many excellent writings. The unexpected harmony and partnership of Strunk and White's have fulfilled their central claim successfully, namely clarity of writing still comes from concision and precision. However, it is readers's (or readers') duty to read everything, even Style critically, and henceforth rather than considering their rules and principles as rigid laws they should follow them as accompanying guidelines for their writings. And that is what I do whenever I write something with desire to fully craft for it to be recognized with excellence.

One person found this helpful

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thirdtwin

Another Version Of The Classic On Writing

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2017

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Probably the most effective writing primer in its most effective edition (the third) because it was written midway between the way back version of the first edition and the latest much changed edition. Combine this book with one on how to cite sources when you write papers and you're ready to face doing papers. There are many editions of this work but this one is probably the most useful because of when it was written and how its tips have held up better than most.

2 people found this helpful

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Maritime Singer

Great reference, but maybe not as an e-book

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2020

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I think this is a great update to one of my college texts, but since my ability to refer to it depends upon my booting up my Kindle, finding the book and then doing a search I often find it to be more trouble than it might be worth. Next time I'll buy this has a paperback.

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Tom G

A useful reference for those who wish to write well

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2015

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If writing is an important part of your personal or professional activities, this book will guide you in composing ideas into words that your audience will understand. The author provides samples of common writing errors and their correct equivalents, words that are often misused, and guidelines to better writing. It is a very short reference but one that you will likely keep close at hand when writing. I recommend this book for writers that want to improve their craft.

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tikosmi

An essential handbook for any writer of quality Engish

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2013

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All college students should READ this book. I recommend it to my management and business students, too. My author-pop keeps a copy on his desk next to his computer monitor, as do I now. If you watch "My Cousin Vinny", a copy of this book is on the lower shelf of the judge's table beside his chair when Vinny enters the judge's office for the time. (Hey, the judge character has a law diploma on his wall from one of the ivy league schools....)

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Top reviews from other countries

Mr Black

Enjoyable, but doesn't teach much to a learned person

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2017

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Arguably a little prescriptive, but that added to the entertaining style in which this style manual is written. Nice and small, this book conveys the message whilst avoiding sedating its readers, as could so easily have been done.

2 people found this helpful

Lo Sibley

Concise

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2019

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A great basis for creative writing, not an authority by any means but concise enough to make it easily absorbed.

One person found this helpful

Riis Marshall

If you write anything at all, this book should have a prominent place on your shelf.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2013

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This book should be right up there alongside your dictionaries, Thesaurus, grammars and books on language usage. If you want your work to be read, you need to work to a standard and this book will help you achieve it. Microsoft Word Spellchecker and so-called grammar software won't do the job. You need a proper book on style. this is it.

Mr. Moshe Elias

the elements of style

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2011

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elegant, precise, and tells you all you need without long introductions and agonising prose. an excellent well-laid out reference book for all writers, fiction and non-fiction.

Meleaca

Good product

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2020

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