The Elements of Style ("Strunk & White") is an American English writing style guide. It is one of the most influential and best-known prescriptive treatments of English grammar and usage in the United States. It originally detailed eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, "a few matters of form," and a list of commonly misused words and expressions. Updated editions of the paperback book are often required reading for American high school and college composition classes. - Wikipedia
In college, I don't know what I would have done without my "Little Brown Book", as we called it. I still have and use it, though mine is a bit out of date. I may just have to look into getting it a sister book, though, now!
Posts: 4328 | Location: Rochester, NY, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Strunk and White is not universally embraced by linguists. Take a look at Language Log, where they routinely attack the little book. Example
quote:
If you want to see what the very worst of the usage and style recommenders say, it is always a good idea to turn to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style first. Sure enough, on page 71 of the 4th edition, they say: "Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs." As usual, moronic advice, and impossible to follow. And in the very next sentence they use adjectives themselves, of course. (An indecisive disjunction of adjectives, in fact: "weak or inaccurate". Well which is it? Be clear, they would say to you if you wrote that.)
What do these writing experts think they are doing trying to take something as subtle as how to write well and boil it down to maxims as simple as the avoidance of one particular grammatical category? Are they... Well, I'm really going to need an adjective to say this... Are they insane?
Look, you don't get good at writing by deleting adjectives. Writing is difficult and demanding; you can learn to get moderately good at it through decades of practice writing millions of words and critiquing what you've written or having others critique it. About 6% of those words will be adjectives, whether you write novels or news stories, whether they're good or bad.
Fowler's is a real gem. I refer to it often (the 2nd Ed. by Burchfield) -- and I'm American.
Posts: 1858 | Location: U.S. | Registered: 06-03-02
DG, what do you mean by text in the title of this topic? My nominee for best single textbook on any subject would be Richard Feynman's 3-volume Lectures in Physics.
Posts: 1858 | Location: U.S. | Registered: 06-03-02
I meant it to mean text for learning English. However, the points mad by you and newnickname are well taken. I will look for a Fowler's at the next book fairs I go to. ("To which I go"?) I do prefer Strunk's version of the rules (as given by MrsS) rather than Fowler's. Strunk gets the same information across with fewer words.
(To be fair, I will also point out that Strunk's Rule 17, "Omit needless words", could be reduced to "Br Brief.")
I was thinking more in terms of teaching to new writers in upper elementary and middle school when I posted. In any case, I think it hard to beat the price of Strunk's: $11 new and $4 used at Amazon.
Posts: 16186 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Fowler is a delight. There is a sense of humour and a pleasure in mocking pomposity in this work.Here's Fowler being, for him, quite serious but the humour of the author shows through, nonetheless. It's his most famous piece of advice and comment.It's on the 'split infinitive'. Scroll down and see whether we may to boldly go !
