book-notes

The Elements of Style

by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

I, Michael Parker, own this book and took these notes to further my own learning. If you enjoy these notes, please purchase the book!

I. Elementary Rules of Usage

• pg 1: Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘s, whatever the final consonant.
• pg 2: In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, add a comma after each term except the last.
• pg 2: When using however or a brief phrase as parenthetic, you can omit commas if the sentence flow is only slightly interrupted.
• pg 3: The abbreviation Jr. has commonly been regarded as parenthetic, but it is restrictive and should not be preceded by a comma.
• pg 5: If the connective and introduces an independent clause, you can omit the comma if the relation between the two statements is close or immediate.
• pg 6: If a grammatically complete second clause is preceded by an adverb, and not by a conjunction, then a semicolon is still required.
• pg 6: A comma is preferable to a semicolon if the clauses or short and alike in form, or the tone is easy and conversational.
• pg 7: An emphatic word or expression can serve the purpose of a sentence if warranted; this typically happens in dialogue.
• pg 7: A colon has more effect than the comma, less separation than the semicolon, and more formality than the dash.
• pg 8: Join two independent clauses with a colon if the second interprets or amplifies the first.
• pg 9: A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses.
• pg 9: It is wrong to use a singular verb form in a relative clause following one of… or an expression when the relative is its subject.
• pg 10: With none, use a singular verb when the word means no one or not one, and a plural verb if it suggests more than one thing or person.
• pg 10: A singular subject remains such even if nouns are connected to it by with, as well as, in addition to, except, together with, and no less than.
• pg 12: A pronoun in a comparison is nomitive if it is the subject of an understood verb. In general, avoid such verbs by supplying them.
• pg 13: A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.

II. Elementary Principles of Composition

• pg 15: The first principle of composition is to foresee or determine the shape of what is to come and pursue that shape.
• pg 16: Begin a paragraph with a sentence that suggests the topic or one that helps the transition.
• pg 17: Paragraph breaks used only for show read like the writing of commerce or of display advertising.
• pg 18: The need to make a particular word the subject of a sentence often determines whether active or passive voice is used.
• pg 18: Habitual use of the active voice makes for forcible writing; additionally, the sentence usually becomes shorter.
• pg 20: The reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not; the reader wishes to be told what is. So express even a negative in a positive form.
• pg 20: Save the auxiliaries would, should, could, may, might, and can for situations involving real uncertainty.
• pg 21: The surest way to arouse and hold the reader’s attention is by being specific, definite, and concrete.
• pg 22: In exposition and argument, even when dealing with general principles, the writer must furnish particular instances of their application.
• pg 23: Write with vigor; this requires not that sentences be short or that detail is avoided, but that every word tell.
• pg 24: The fact that should be revised out of every sentence; who is, which was, and the like are often superfluous.
• pg 26: Recast loose sentences to remove the monotony; do so however best represents the real relations of the thought.
• pg 26: A likeness of form enables the reader to recognize more readily any likeness of content and function.
• pg 27: When words requiring particular prepositions join in compound construction, all these prepositions must be included, unless they are all the same.
• pg 27: Correlative expressions (both, and; not, but; not only, but also; either, or; first, second) should be followed by the same grammatical construction.
• pg 28: Bring together words and groups of words that are related in thought, and keep apart those that are not so related.
• pg 29: The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not be separated by a phrase or clause that can be moved to the beginning.
• pg 29: The relative pronoun, such as who, whom, whoever, whomever, whose, that, or which, should immediately follow its antecedent.
• pg 30: Modifiers should come next to the words they modify. If several expressions modify the same word, rearrange so that no wrong relation is suggested.
• pg 31: Keep summaries to one tense; shifting between tenses gives the appearance of uncertainty and irresolution.
• pg 32: The proper place for the word or group of words that the writer wants to make most prominent is at the end.
• pg 33: Any element in the sentence other than the subject becomes emphatic when placed first.

III. A Few Matters of Form

• pg 34: Use colloquialisms or slang without quotation marks or drawing attention to it.
• pg 34: When two or more words are combined to form a compound adjective, a hyphen is usually required.
• pg 36: Formal quotations cited as documentary evidence are introduced by a colon and enclosed in quotation marks.
• pg 37: Provide references in parentheses or footnotes. Omit words book, volume, page except when referring to only one of them.
• pg 38: Omit A or The from titles when you place the possessive before them.

IV. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused

• pg 39: Aggravate is to add to an already troublesome matter; irritate is to vex or annoy.
• pg 40: When more than two are involved but each is considered individually, between is preferred over among.
• pg 40: Replace and/or by using or and appending or both.
• pg 41: Replace as to whether with whether, regarded as being with regarded as, and as yet with yet if equivalent.
• pg 42: Drop case, such as in in many cases or been the case, as well as certainly.
• pg 42: Do not use certainly or use very indiscriminately to intensify any and every statement;
• pg 43: Use compare to to highlight similarities in different things, and compare with to highlight differences in similar things.
• pg 43: A collective is comprised of many things, while many things constitute a collective.
• pg 44: One thing differs from another, and so use different from instead of different than.
• pg 45: Each and every one is pitchman’s jargon and should be avoided.
• pg 45: Use enormity in the sense of “monstrous wickedness.” It is misleading, if not wrong, to use to express bigness.
• pg 46: Using etc is incorrect at the end of a list introduced by such as or for example. In formal writing, etc is a misfit.
• pg 46: Farther best serves as a distance word, while further as a time or quantity word.
• pg 47: Feature, like factor, usually adds nothing to the sentence in which it occurs.
• pg 47: Fortuitous means limited to what happens by chance, and should not be used for fortunate or lucky.
• pg 48: Use hopefully to mean with hope, as opposed to I hope or it is to be hoped.
• pg 48: However can start a sentence if it means in whatever way or two whatever extent; otherwise you mean nevertheless.
• pg 49: In regards too is incorrect, while either in regard to or as regards is correct.
• pg 50: Reserve insightful for instances of remarkably penetrating vision; otherwise use perceptive or a similar word.
• pg 50: Be wary of words that end in -ize. Use simpler, unpretentious words instead, like use instead of utilize.
• pg 51: Use kind of and sort of in a literal sense.
• pg 51: Like governs nouns and pronouns; before phrases and clauses the equivalent word is as.
• pg 52: Loan is a noun; as a verb, prefer lend.
• pg 53: Nature is redundant when used like character; otherwise it should be avoided in vague expressions.
• pg 53: Nauseous means sicking to contemplate, while nauseated means sick at the stomach.
• pg 54: Offputting can mean different things in different contexts, so replace it with a word that has clear meaning.
• pg 55: Partially means to a certain degree when speaking of a condition or state; partly carries the idea of a part as distinct from the whole.
• pg 55: Replace the present participle with a verbal noun (gerund) to emphasize the verb and not the subject.
• pg 56: Personalize and possess are pretentious words that should be replaced, while personally can usually be omitted.
• pg 57: Do not carelessly use regretful in place of regrettable.
• pg 57: You can usually omit respective and respectively without introducing ambiguity.
• pg 58: In formal writing, the future tense requires shall for the first person, and will for the second and third.
• pg 58: Restrict state to the sense of expressing fully or clearly, instead of using it as a substitute for say or remark.
• pg 59: Any sentence with than should be examined to make sure that no essential words are missing.
• pg 59: That is the defining, or restrictive, pronoun; which is the non-defining, or nonrestrictive, one.
• pg 60: To avoid overusing he or she, try using the plural, eliminating the pronoun, or substituting the second person for the third person.
• pg 61: Replace this when it refers to the complete sense of a preceding sentence or clause, as it may be imprecise.
• pg 62: Transpire is not a synonym for happen, while type is not a synonym for kind of.
• pg 62: Unique means without like or equal, and so there should be no degrees of uniqueness using most or very.
• pg 63: Use very sparingly; where emphasis is necessary, use words strong in themselves.
• pg 63: Avoid indiscriminately substituting while for and, but, and although; replace it with at the same time to judge its absurdity.
• pg 64: The suffix -wise should only be used when it refers to a manner, like clockwise.
• pg 64: Phrases like once a year, each Sunday, or the past tense are more brief and emphatic by omitting would.
• pg 64: Indicate the transition from sentences that state a general habit to those that express the action of a specific day or period.

V. An Approach to Style

• pg 69: The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, and sincerity.
• pg 70: To achieve style, begin by affecting none, thereby placing yourself in the background.
• pg 70: Write in a way that comes easily and naturally to you. Never imitate consciously, but don’t worry about being an imitator.
• pg 71: Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs.
• pg 72: Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, so rewrite your writing later and ruthlessly delete the excess.
• pg 73: Do not overstate, as a single carefree superlative has the potential to destroy, for readers, the object of your enthusiasm.
• pg 73: Avoid the use of qualifiers such as rather, very, little, and petty.
• pg 75: Do not explain too much, as it is seldom advisable to tell all.
• pg 77: Only the writer whose ear is reliable is in a position to use bad grammar deliberately.
• pg 78: Don’t use dialect unless you are a devoted student of the tongue you hope to reproduce, and if you do, apply it consistently.
• pg 79: If mired in a sentence, typically the construction has become too involved, and the sentence should be broken into two.
• pg 79: Do not inject opinion into a piece of writing; they leave the mark of egotism on a work.
• pg 80: Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity. The only reliable shortcut is to choose words that are strong and surefooted.
• pg 82: To use language well, do not hack it to bits; accept the whole body of it, cherish its classic form, its variety, and its richness.
• pg 84: Style takes its final shape more from attitudes of mind than from principles of composition.
• pg 84: You must sympathize with the reader’s plight, but never seek to know his the reader’s wants. Write for yourself.