The Elements of Style: Classic Edition (2018) E-Book

William Strunk Jr.

• Herausgeber: Spectrum Ink Publishing
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 124

Beschreibung

This Classic Edition commemorates the 100-year anniversary of William Strunk's grammar primer, The Elements of Style. Generations of writers have learned the basics of grammar from Strunk’s little 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.
Elements of Style: Classic Edition 2018 includes the full text of Strunk's original work. It adds two new chapters requested by college professors and students to help clarify points of confusion in modern writing: Basic Rules of Capitalization and Style Rules for Better Writing. It also features a variety of enhancements that make this grammar handbook even more useful:
1. Editor’s notes have been inserted throughout the book to flag grammar rules that are now obsolete and to provide up-to-date advice for students and writers.
2. Emojis have been added to help readers identify correct examples from errors at a glance.
3. A Study Guide is included in the last chapter.
4. The paperback version includes blank, lined pages in the back of the book for convenient notetaking.
5. The e-book versions have been restyled for improved display on the latest generations of digital book-reading devices.
Elements of Style: Classic Edition is now being used as a textbook in courses at University of Minnesota, University of Texas, UC Berkeley and elsewhere, giving students and writers a blueprint that they can follow to write clearly and effectively while adhering to the fundamental rules of English Grammar.

Leseprobe

THEELEMENTS OF STYLE

By William Strunk Jr.

CLASSIC EDITION

2018 UPDATE

Richard De A’Morelli, Editor

SPECTRUM INK PUBLISHING

Table of Contents

Preface

Foreword: WHY ENGLISH GRAMMAR MATTERS

The Nine Parts of Speech

Three Essentials of Effective Writing

George Orwell’s Advice to Writers

A Writer’s Recipe for Success

Chapter 1: ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE

Rule 1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ’s.

Rule 2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.

Rule 3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.

Rule 4. Place a comma before a conjunction introducing a coordinate clause.

Rule 5. Do not join independent clauses by a comma.

Rule 6. Do not break sentences in two.

Rule 7. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.

Chapter 2: ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION

Rule 8. Make the paragraph the unit of composition.

Rule 9. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.

Rule 10. Use the active voice.

Rule 11. Put statements in positive form.

Rule 12. Use definite, specific, concrete language.

Rule 13. Omit needless words.

Rule 14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.

Rule 15. Express coordinate ideas in similar form.

Rule 16. Keep related words together.

Rule 17. In summaries, keep to one tense.

Rule 18. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.

Chapter 3: BASIC RULES OF CAPITALIZATION

Rule 19. “First Word” Capitalization Rules.

Rule 20. Capitalize Proper Nouns.

Rule 21. Capitalize Days, Months, and Historic Eras.

Rule 22. When to Capitalize Landmarks.

Rule 23. When to Capitalize the Names of Seasons.

Rule 24. Capitalize “Personified” Nouns.

Rule 25. Capitalize Cardinal Points (Sometimes).

Rule 26. Capitalize Most Words in Titles.

Rule 27. When to Capitalize Roman Numerals.

Rule 28. Capitalize Trademarks and Service Marks.

Rule 29. When to Capitalize Relative Words.

Rule 30. Capitalize Some Religious Titles and Terms.

Rule 31. When to Capitalize Political Titles.

Rule 32. When to Capitalize Educational Titles.

Rule 33. When to Capitalize Job Titles.

Chapter 4: A FEW MATTERS OF FORM

Headings

Numerals

Parentheses

Hyphenation

Quotations

References

Chapter 5: WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS OFTEN MISUSED

Chapter 6: SPELLING

Chapter 7: STYLE RULES FOR BETTER WRITING

You can start a sentence with a conjunction.

You can split infinitives.

You can end a sentence with a preposition.

Consider your audience.

Write short paragraphs.

Write concise sentences.

Be consistent with style.

Write with a word, not with a phrase.

Don't double up terms.

Place modifiers next to the word modified.

Place long conditions after the main clause.

Avoid intruding words.

A person is a who, not a that.

Which and that are not interchangeable.

Often, that can be omitted.

Avoid this is because, that is the result of.

Make sure subjects and verbs agree.

Avoid confusing adjectives and adverbs.

Avoid the false subjects it is, there is/are, etc.

Chapter 8: STUDY GUIDE

A Message from the Publisher

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The Elements of Style:Classic Edition (2018)

Copyright © 2018 by Spectrum Ink Publishing.

Published simultaneously in Canada and the United States.

First Edition: July 23, 2018

This volume is a revised, restyled, and expanded update of a public domain work, constituting a derivative edition protected by copyright under U.S., Canadian and international laws and treaties. Revisions to the original work, notations throughout this volume by the editor, and new content added, including new chapters, as well as design elements and typography, are original creative works and protected by copyright. No part of this book may be reproduced, uploaded, shared, or otherwise posted on any blog, website, social network or other medium, digital or otherwise, without the publisher’s express consent, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN Numbers:

978-1-64399-000-2

Paperback

978-1-64399-001-9

Mobi /Kindle

978-1-64399-002-6

EPUB

978-1-64399-003-3

Paperback (Ingram)

978-1-64399-004-0

Hardcover

Spectrum Ink Canada

Vancouver, British Columbia

Spectrum Ink USA

San Luis Obispo, California

Website:

http://spectrum.org/books

Preface

The Elements of Style was written in 1918 by William Strunk Jr., an English professor at Cornell University. He distributed it as a handout listing basic grammar tips for students in his English classes, and he probably never imagined that it still would be widely read a century later. Strunk’s legacy endured, and his book has helped generations of college students and writers learn the basics of English grammar. Elements of Style was recognized as “one of the 100 most influential books written in English” by Time in 2011; and author Stephen King recommended it as must reading for all aspiring writers.

In a preface to the first edition, Strunk wrote: “This book aims to describe in just a few pages the principal requirements of plain English style. Its goal is to lighten the task of instructors and students by concentrating on a few essentials, the rules of usage, and principles of composition most commonly violated. To fulfill these criteria, the book will describe three rules for the use of the comma, rather than a dozen or more, and one for the use of the semicolon, in the belief that these four rules will provide for most of the punctuation that is required by nineteen sentences out of twenty. Likewise, the book discusses only those principles pertaining to the paragraph and the sentence of the widest application. Thus, we will endeavor to cover only a small portion of the field of English grammar and style.”

This Classic Edition is a centennial tribute to Strunk's book, which is not only a useful grammar primer but a nostalgic link to a fabled time in American history that brought the Art Deco era and the Roaring Twenties. Many of the grammar rules in these pages are as valid today as they were a century ago; but, the world has changed, and the English language has changed with it, making some of Strunk’s rules obsolete. This edition contains the full text of The Elements of Style, plus numerous enhancements not found in other public domain versions of Strunk’s book, including:

1. Editor’s notes have been inserted throughout to flag grammar rules now considered obsolete, and to provide up-to-date usage rules for students and writers.

2. Emojis have been added to most examples to help readers easily identify correctly written passages from errors.

3. A Study Guide is included in the last chapter.

4. The paperback version includes blank, lined pages at the back of the book for convenient notetaking.

5. The e-book version has been restyled for improved display on the latest generations of digital reader devices.

In addition, this expanded update features a new Introduction and two new chapters: Basic Rules of Capitalization (Chapter 3) presents an in-depth list of capitalization rules that confuse many writers; and, Style Rules for Better Writing (Chapter 7) offers a collection of tips on how to improve your writing, as well as grammar and style mistakes to avoid when revising and self-editing your work.

Prof. Strunk’s book stresses the importance of writing clear and grammatically correct prose. It is a blueprint that students and writers can follow to write their thoughts and ideas in a crisp, concise, and effective manner. The clearer your writing, the more likely it is that readers will grasp the points you are trying to make.

If you need a more comprehensive handbook on grammar and style, you may find Elements of Style 2017 useful. Intended for college students, writers, editors, and anyone else who is called upon to write grammar-perfect final drafts, this handy guide builds on Strunk’s fundamental rules and includes more than 500 grammar and style rules from authoritative sources. Elements of Style 2017 is available in e-book and paperback editions at your favorite bookstore.

Now, let’s begin reading Strunk’s Elements of Style and take the first step toward correct and effective writing.

Foreword

WHY ENGLISH GRAMMAR MATTERS

By Joseph Devlin, M.A.

To write correctly and effectively, the fundamental principles of English grammar must be mastered. No matter how badly you want to write, no matter how deep your feelings, and no matter how exciting the ideas you want to share with others, if you don’t know the basic rules of how to correctly form sentences and the relation of words to one another, your writing will lack coherency. Imagine for a moment a novel with a sensational idea, unforgettable characters, set in an exotic place, and chock full of suspense—no matter how great the idea might be, if the story is penned by a writer who lacks a basic grasp of the English language, the result will be poorly written.

Learning how to write correctly should be an easy challenge considering that the average person’s vocabulary consists of a mere 2,000 words. Knowing the definitions of those words and knowing how to put them together in a sentence won't make you a master of the English language, but it will make you a competent writer, and most people who read what you write will understand it. You might think 2,000 words is a small number, considering how many thousands of words are in the dictionary. But nobody ever uses all the words in the dictionary, and there is really no need to use them. If no one understands the words you use in your writing, you will have no audience; and if you have no readers, you will have no reason to write.

The English language contains at least 250,000 distinct words. Knowing just one percent of these words will suffice for nearly every writing endeavor you might wish to undertake. Shakespeare's classic works contain 15,000 different words, but more than 10,000 are obsolete today. Of course, you might want to expand your vocabulary and use interesting words for the sake of variety or to impress your reader; or maybe a common word just doesn’t have the right ring to it. Maybe you don't want to refer to a spade as simply a spade–you'd rather call it a spatulous device for abrading the surface of the soil. The problem is, most of your readers won’t have any idea what you are talking about. So, it’s better to stick with familiar words that are widely used and understood. Proper grammatical structure of the several thousand English words you will likely use can be learned with relative ease.

Rules of grammar are necessary and should be followed so that you can express thoughts and ideas in a clear and effective manner. Written correctly, your words will convey a definite meaning and have impact on your readers. But hard and fast rules cannot make a writer. If you have no ideas to put into words, no thought can be expressed, and no writing can take place. You must have distinct thoughts and ideas before you can express them in written form.

The best way to learn to write is to sit down and write, just as the best way to learn to ride a bicycle is to mount the wheel and work the pedals. Write first about common things and familiar subjects. Familiar themes are always the best for the beginner. Don’t attempt to describe a scene in Australia if you have never been there and know nothing of the country. Never struggle to find subjects—thousands exist around you. Describe what you saw yesterday: a fire, a crowded store, a fight on the street, an exquisite sunset, and be original in your description. Imitate the best writers in their style, but not in their exact words. Get off the beaten path and make a pathway of your own.

The Nine Parts of Speech

To grasp the basic rules of grammar and the proper placement of words in sentences, it’s important to know that all words in the English language fall into nine categories, called “the parts of speech.” They are: noun, article, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

The noun is the most important of the nine parts of speech, as all the rest are more or less dependent upon it. A noun refers to the name of any person, place, or thing, which includes tangible objects and abstract concepts. Nouns fall into two categories: proper and common. Proper nouns are formal names, as the names of people (John, Mary, Bob); places (London, Paris, Seattle); and countries (Canada, England). Common nouns refer to everything else in more general terms (man, city, nation).

An article is a word placed before a noun to show whether the noun is used in a particular or general sense. English has two articles: a (or an) and the. The former is called the “indefinite” article because it does not refer to a particular person or thing but indicates the noun in its most general sense; for instance, a man can mean any man on the planet. The latter is called the “definite” article because it refers to a specific person or thing; thus, the man means a specific individual.

An adjective is a word that qualifies a noun, meaning it shows or points out some distinguishing mark or feature of the noun. For example: a black dog, a pretty woman, a cold wind.

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun so that you don't have to repeat the same noun too often and fall into tedious repetition. Consider the following sentence:

☺ John gave his pen to James, and then he lent it to Jane to write her copy with it.

Without pronouns, we would have to write this sentence as:

✘John gave John's pen to James, and then James lent the pen to Jane to write Jane's copy with the pen.

Pronouns fall into two categories: singular and plural. The singular pronouns are: I, me, my, mine; you, your, yours; he, him, his; she, her, hers; and it, its; and the plural are: we, us, our, ours; you, your, yours; and they, them, their, theirs.

A verb is a word that signifies action or the doing of something; or it may be a word that affirms, commands, or asks a question. The phrase John the table contains no assertion and thus no verb. But when the word strikes is introduced, something is affirmed–strikes is a verb and completes the thought, giving meaning to the group.

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. In the following examples, the adverbs are underlined. In the first example, the adverb shows the manner in which the writing is done. In the second, the adverb modifies the adjective diligent. In the third, the adverb modifies the adjective beautiful.

He writes well.

He is remarkably diligent.

She is very beautiful

Note that adverbs are mainly used to express in one word what would otherwise require two or more words.

A preposition connects words, clauses, and sentences together and shows the relation between them, as:

My hand is on the table.

This sentence shows relation between hand and table, and the preposition on connects the two words. Prepositions are usually placed before the words whose connection or relation with other words they point out.

A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases, clauses, and sentences together. For instance, the conjunctions are underlined in these examples:

John and James.

My father and mother arrived, but