the elements of style by william strunk william strunk jr

The advice in it is really solid and at such a short length, it doesn’t take a long time to look through it for a refresher.Ī great little reference book that’s probably better read than listened to. Writer’s Takeaway: This book is worth revisiting from time to time. He was also very monotone and had odd inflections that were, again, distracting. He pronounced some words strangely (semicolon as sem-EE-ko-LON for example) and it distracted me from the narrative. The edition I listened to was narrated by William Bridgewater. The narrator I had didn’t help, he was monotone and didn’t stress the parts that were different in the example sentences. I think if I’d been reading it, I would have gotten more from those sections. I found the section on spelling and the one on commas a bit hard to absorb while listening. That one was new to me and I think I’ll use it. I also really liked Strunk’s advice about how to arrange a sentence to put emphasis on the element that’s most important. Strunk had a good way to describe it so maybe I’ll just hand people a copy of this book when I tell them to use parallel phrasing in sentence structure. I try describing this to people all the time and it doesn’t make sense to them. I was glad there was a section on parallel phrasing. It’s worth reading through every once in a while just to remember how to structure an argument or sentences in general. They were all good reminders and I think this is a solid reference book. I guess that means I did get a good writing education after all! Or maybe these elements are more commonly taught now and I’m nothing special. I was surprised how much of this I already knew from school. This little book can help you communicate more effectively by showing you how to enliven your sentences. Throughout, the emphasis is on promoting a plain English style. This style manual offers practical advice on improving writing skills.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.

The elements of style by william strunk william strunk jr