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The Elements of Style

by William Strunk, Jr., E. B. White

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
19,020194220 (4.16)148
This updated 2018 Classic Edition contains the original version of William Strunk's The Elements of Style, plus a variety of enhancements that make this book even more useful. It is now being used as a textbook in classes at University of Minnesota, University of Texas, UC Berkeley, and elsewhere.Generations of college students and writers have learned the basics of English grammar from this short book. It was rated "one of the 100 most influential books written in English" by Time in 2011, and iconic author Stephen King recommended it as a grammar primer that all aspiring writers should read.Written a century ago, Strunk's book is a nostalgic link to the Art Deco era and the Roaring Twenties. Many of the grammar rules listed in his book still apply today; but the English language has changed over the years, and some of these rules have are now obsolete. This Classic Edition addresses these changes with the following enhancements and additional content:1. This 2018 update adds two new chapters requested by college professors and students: Basic Rules of Capitalization and Style Rules for Better Writing.2. Editor's notes have been inserted throughout the book to flag grammar rules that are become obsolete and to provide up-to-date advice for students and writers.3. Emojis have been added to help readers identify correct examples from errors at a glance.4. A Study Guide is included in the last chapter, and the paperback version includes blank, lined pages in the back of the book for note taking.5. The e-book version has been restyled for improved display on the latest generations of digital book-reading devices.Elements of Style: Classic Edition 2018 gives students and writers a blueprint that they can follow to write clearly and effectively while learning the fundamental rules of English Grammar.… (more)
  1. 40
    On Writing Well by William Zinsser (chwiggy)
  2. 32
    The Reader Over Your Shoulder: A Handbook for Writers of English Prose by Robert Graves (aulsmith)
    aulsmith: Reader Over Your Shoulder has the same sort of advice as Elements of Style, but with many interesting examples of prose written in violation of the principle they are advocating.
  3. 01
    Deutsch fürs Leben: Was die Schule zu lehren vergaß by Wolf Schneider (JuliaMaria)
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» See also 148 mentions

English (185)  Italian (1)  German (1)  Japanese (1)  All languages (188)
Showing 1-5 of 185 (next | show all)
Very educational and inspiring. This books helps you along the way in your writing style and guides you along. Wonderful ready. ( )
  serlinarose | Feb 28, 2023 |
I very much liked this book, even if certain parts are maybe not applicable to writing in Swedish. Most of the book can be applied to writing in most languages though, and considering how much social media I deal with in English it doesn't hurt to know the proper grammar rules (or, you know, go over them again... I did learn some in school, after all).

The only thing I really disagreed with was the idea that "he" works well as a gender-neutral pronoun in English, better than singular "they". I'd prefer "they" any day, and the book totally allows one to choose freely in this matter, which I liked. ( )
  upontheforemostship | Feb 22, 2023 |
This book is probably responsible for a lot of the silliness around the passive voice in modern school systems today. In fact, many of the examples of the passive voice are not passive at all. These and other issues are offset by White's essay towards the back, and the sensible rules regarding possessive nouns. ( )
  Erunion2 | Feb 14, 2023 |
Is there any other guide? Not in my opinion. ( )
  jkohlmeyer1816 | Nov 12, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 185 (next | show all)
Buy it, study it, enjoy it. It's as timeless as a book can be in our age of volubility. (previous edition)
added by ArrowStead | editThe New York Times
 
...still a little book, small enough and important enough to carry in your pocket, as I carry mine.
added by ArrowStead | editFront cover, Charles Osgood
 
The Elements of Style does not deserve the enormous esteem in which it is held by American college graduates. Its advice ranges from limp platitudes to inconsistent nonsense. Its enormous influence has not improved American students' grasp of English grammar; it has significantly degraded it.
 

» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Strunk, William, Jr.primary authorall editionsconfirmed
White, E. B.main authorall editionsconfirmed
Angell, RogerForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kalman, MairaIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
The first writer I watched at work was my stepfather, E.B. White.
Dedication
First words
1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's.
Introduction: At the close of the first World War, when I was a student at Cornell, I took a course called English 8.
[50th anniversary and 1979 editions.]
Introduction: A small book arrived in my mail not long ago, a gift from a friend in Ithica.
[1959 edition]
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
"The Elements of Forbidden" about 5 copies of which are buried in this work, are due to a since-corrected LibraryThing error, and are really also 'Style' works
This is the edition of The Elements of Style that was written by William Strunk and later expanded upon by E.B. White.  Please do not combine with the original, unexpanded version by Strunk alone, nor with the illustrated edition.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
This updated 2018 Classic Edition contains the original version of William Strunk's The Elements of Style, plus a variety of enhancements that make this book even more useful. It is now being used as a textbook in classes at University of Minnesota, University of Texas, UC Berkeley, and elsewhere.Generations of college students and writers have learned the basics of English grammar from this short book. It was rated "one of the 100 most influential books written in English" by Time in 2011, and iconic author Stephen King recommended it as a grammar primer that all aspiring writers should read.Written a century ago, Strunk's book is a nostalgic link to the Art Deco era and the Roaring Twenties. Many of the grammar rules listed in his book still apply today; but the English language has changed over the years, and some of these rules have are now obsolete. This Classic Edition addresses these changes with the following enhancements and additional content:1. This 2018 update adds two new chapters requested by college professors and students: Basic Rules of Capitalization and Style Rules for Better Writing.2. Editor's notes have been inserted throughout the book to flag grammar rules that are become obsolete and to provide up-to-date advice for students and writers.3. Emojis have been added to help readers identify correct examples from errors at a glance.4. A Study Guide is included in the last chapter, and the paperback version includes blank, lined pages in the back of the book for note taking.5. The e-book version has been restyled for improved display on the latest generations of digital book-reading devices.Elements of Style: Classic Edition 2018 gives students and writers a blueprint that they can follow to write clearly and effectively while learning the fundamental rules of English Grammar.

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Book description
According to the St. Louis Dispatch, this "excellent book, which should go off to college with every freshman, is recognized as the best book of its kind we have." It should be the ". . . daily companion of anyone who writes for a living and, for that matter, anyone who writes at all" (Greensboro Daily New). "No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent little volume"
Haiku summary
Excruiciating

Grammatical correctness:

Here's how to do it. (lturpin42)

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