brenticus reviewed The Elements of Style by William Strunk
None
4 stars
Strunk's The Elements of Style is a bit dated in some respects, but still something worth recommending to anyone doing pretty much any sort of writing. It starts with some basic grammar, gets into some simple prescriptions for writing with better flow and clarity, dives into some really nit-picky grammar around specific word choices, and then finally talks about developing a writing style.
I've seen quite a few comments over the years about how the rules in this book stifle creativity but I really don't see it. The first few chapters are just basic elements of writing well in English; the last chapter has too little substance (though this is a good thing, given the subject matter) to truly restrict anything.
The only reason it's not a five-star book for me is really that a few examples feel like they're showing their age. It's hard to blame them—my edition was …
I've seen quite a few comments over the years about how the rules in this book stifle creativity but I really don't see it. The first few chapters are just basic elements of writing well in English; the last chapter has too little substance (though this is a good thing, given the subject matter) to truly restrict anything.
The only reason it's not a five-star book for me is really that a few examples feel like they're showing their age. It's hard to blame them—my edition was updated in the year 2000, and I'm sure the word "data" has been used more in the last twenty years than in the rest of human history—but it still grates at times. Regardless, the rest of the advice makes for a concise and useful reminder of some good rules for improving your writing, and I'm sure I've broken most of them in these few short paragraphs. C'est la vie.
