William Strunk, Jr.

William Strunk Jr., an English professor at Cornell University in 1919 required his students to have the textbook The Elements of Style, written by William Strunk Jr. himself. It was referred to as the “little” book and was a forty-three-page summary of the case for cleanliness, accuracy and brevity in the use of English (Strunk & White, 2000). These rules are in the form of sharp commands, shining light on Sergeant Strunk’s personality and approach to teaching. E.B. White, a former student of Strunk

Strunk and White’s “Elements of Style” A typical science fiction fan can be more familiar about Star Trek and it’s characters than some of their own family members. For those that are not all that familiar with this “Sci Fi” show, Star Trek remains as a very well known icon in television history. The crew of the Starship Enterprise traveled to mysterious planets, through mysterious galaxies. I wonder if this journey couldn’t be compared to the journey of style for the writer.

Writing Style I hear inner Strunk and White voices of “don’t overwrite”, “write in a way that comes naturally,” and so forth, going through my head. I have visions of endless Williams examples and illustrations on clarity. I see weeks of blog writings flashing through my memory. From all of this, I now own and believe in a firm and personal definition of what style is and what good writing entails. William Strunk and E.B. White’s book The Elements of Style, along with Joseph

enough of Strunk & White to feel somewhat confident (or even frustrated) by the rules that you already knew or forgot, examine Style by Joseph M. Williams. Mr. Williams is a professor of English and Linguistics at the University of Chicago. You may have already encountered another book published by the University on the subject. Fear not; Williams book is not an immense conundrum of rules in the same vein as The Chicago Manual of Style. I prefer to think of it as a response to Strunk & White; Williams

I believe this to be a common mistake. Strunk and White refer to this usage as the “serial” comma. The only time they believe it is acceptable to not follow this rule is in the case of a business or a firm containing three or more names. Often the second comma will be omitted. Another very important rule dealing with commas is rule number 4, “place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause” (Strunk and White, 5). This rule not only points out the proper place

Like all other authors, E. B. White’s work was critically analyzed throughout his career. Most would give bad feedback, but everyone loved him and his writing. He had such a unique style of writing that made him popular for all ages. His books ranged from children books all the way to humor and knowledge about the styles of writing for adults. His ability to open up readers’ imaginations draws them in and makes them wanting more. With that, E. B. White is still considered one of the most-loved and

Questioning of the Writing Profession Plato’s The Republic For all the time today’s students spend learning to write well, Plato is skeptical of those who spend their lives crafting words. In the tenth chapter of The Republic, Socrates condemns poets as imitators. In the dialogue that bears his name, Phaedrus wonders whether words in the constructed rhythms of speech or poetry will obscure Truth, the philosopher’s ultimate goal. Speech-writing is just the clever use of rhetorical device

guidelines while writing? Anyone wanting to make their writing clear, precise, and simply correct will usually try following some type of guideline, or book in order to perfect their own writing style. After reading both The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, and also Williams’s Style toward Clarity and Grace I can see why teachers discuss these books as tools for correcting and perfecting their students writing, and style. While at the same time understand someone out of the classroom setting

I have become to notice, through my English 1101 class, that writing well is a tool that everyone can benefit from. Good writers will tell of an occasion in which their talent has earned them advancement; an advancement that comes to play not only in the job market but also for personal satisfaction. Fortunately, writing is a skill that can be practiced to a point at which near flawlessness is reached. The many sides of writing can seem quite overwhelming to the novice, like myself. The aspect of

“The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White introduction to philosophy is that a writer should be brief and concise with their words. The most important rule of style in Strunk and White element of style is “omit needless words!” This means that a sentence should not contain anything extra. E. B. White describes him as someone that puts his heart and soul with rules of usage. He is very dedicated to writing and wrote down the commonly misused words in a book to help people learn the English language