The Elements of Style - Softcover

Strunk Jr, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1640320741 ISBN 13: 9781640320741

Publisher: Chump Change, 1918

Synopsis

Unabridged value reproduction of The Elements of Style is the definitive text and classic manual on the principles of English language read by millions of readers. The 18 main topics are organized under the several headings, “Elementary Rules of Usage,” “Elementary Principles of Composition,” “Words and Expressions Commonly Misused,” and others.

Quotes on usage and composition from this book include the oft heard phrases, “Omit needless words,” and “Use the active voice.” 

This is the first edition from 1918 created by Strunk alone, before Strunk’s revision and reprinting in 1920, and before the revised editions by E.B. White in 1959 and forward.  

Now this book is offered in an unabridged, affordably printed volume.

 

Contents

I. INTRODUCTORY            3

II. ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE            3

1. Form the possessive singular of nouns with ’s.              3

2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.      4

3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.   4

4. Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause.                6

5. Do not join independent clauses by a comma.               7

6. Do not break sentences in two.            8

7. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.       8

8. Divide words at line-ends, in accordance with their formation and pronunciation.         9

III. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION                10

9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.     10

10. As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, end it in conformity with the beginning.           11

11. Use the active voice.               14

12. Put statements in positive form.        16

13. Omit needless words.             17

14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.           18

15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form.      19

16. Keep related words together.             20

17. In summaries, keep to one tense.     22

18. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end. 22

IV. A FEW MATTERS OF FORM    24

V. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED     25

VI. WORDS OFTEN MISSPELLED 34

About this title

Review

"...a marvellous and timeless little book... Here, succinctly, elegantly and without fuss are the essentials of writing clear, correct English."

John Clare, The Telegraph

From the Back Cover

Some acclaim for previous editions:

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

"No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent little volume."
― The Boston Globe

"White is one of the best stylists and most lucid minds in this country. What he says and his way of saying it are equally rewarding."
― The Wall Street Journal

"The book remains a nonpareil: direct, correct, and delightful."
― The New Yorker

". . . Should be the daily companion of anyone who writes for a living, and for that matter, anyone who writes at all."
― Greensboro (N.C.) Daily News

"This excellent book, which should go off to college with every freshman, is recognized as the best book of its kind we have."
― St. Paul Dispatch – Pioneer Press

"It's hard to imagine an engineer or a manager who doesn't need to express himself in English prose as part of his job. It's also hard to imagine a writer who will not be improved by a liberal application of The Elements of Style."
― Telephone Engineer & Management

Edition details

• Publisher: Chump Change
• Publication date: 1918
• ISBN 10: 1640320741
• ISBN 13: 9781640320741
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 34