The Elements of Style by Strunk and White - A Must-Have Resource for English Language Writers

in #english7 years ago (edited)

A Public Domain Resource for English Language Writers

Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, first privately published in 1918, is a must-have resource for any English language writer. Because of its early copyright date this work is now in the Public Domain, and can be accessed online free of cost from most countries.

This work has been updated numerous times since first publication, and more modern editions now include additional information not available in the Public Domain version.

Still, because the foundational work covers the most important basic American English grammar and style essentials, the original, public domain version is a fantastic resource for people all over the world who are writing in English, and who need an online or downloadable free version.

One thing to keep in mind when using the original version of this work is that there are several cases of outdated usage for some words. For instance, the original version instructs the reader to use to-day when today is the correct modern usage.

For people whose first language is not English, I recommend writing your articles using The Elements of Style as your guide, and then running your complete article text through https://www.grammarly.com/ to get the adjustments needed for modern day correct usage.

Source links for The Elements of Style Original Version

These two links will take you to online versions of the Public Domain original version of The Elements of Style.

https://www.crockford.com/wrrrld/style.html

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style

Table of Contents for The Elements of Style Original Version

Here are the topics covered in the original 1918 version of The Elements of Style:

  • Contents
  • Introductory
  • Elementary Rules of Usage
  1. Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's.
  2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.
  3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
  4. Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause.
  5. Do not join independent clauses by a comma.
  6. Do not break sentences in two.
  7. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
  8. Divide words at line-ends, in accordance with their formation and pronunciation.
    Elementary Principles of Composition
  9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.
  10. As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning.
  11. Use the active voice.
  12. Put statements in positive form.
  13. Omit needless words.
  14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
  15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form.
  16. Keep related words together.
  17. In summaries, keep to one tense.
  18. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.
  • A Few Matters of Form
  • Words and Expressions Commonly Misused
  • Words Commonly Misspelled

Grammar Matters in English

Becoming a skilled writer in English does not happen without careful attention to detail. It is extremely helpful to have a short, concise reference manual such as The Elements of Style by Strunk and White close at hand while writing.

I have used my copy of The Elements of Style since I purchased it as a textbook in college.

  • I continue to use it today whenever I can’t remember a punctuation rule.

  • I also read it from cover to cover about once a year to remind myself of details I may have forgotten.

These practices help make my writing the best it can be.



Cheers!
@mitneb
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Very important resource for every steemit user. To achieve quality in content, one needs to first master the rules of grammar and this resource can be a good support for anyone willing to learn.

This is the beauty of steemit; the opportunities for acquiring knowledge is all over the place. Love it!

Good works @mitneb. Stay steeming


Cheers!Thanks, @warpedpoetic! I was pleasantly surprised when I was researching this book, and found it was available for free in the public domain. I have gained so much benefit from this book that I wanted to share it with the people on my Discord Server. Rather than just drop a link to it in the #resources channel I decided to write an article. I was making a curation comment about grammar and punctuation today, and this book came to mind.

This post has received a 33% upvote from spotlight thanks to: @resteemable.

This post has received a 50% upvote from spotlight thanks to: @resteemable.

As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!


ThanksLet me look it up @mitneb. It should fine-tune me!

From the breakdown of the contents and the points raised above, this would be a very resourceful material for any Steemian, (especially non-native speakers of English language) who wishes to step up the game of quality in content creation.

Thank you @mitneb for sharing this, I find this invaluable.

This is one great book all of us should read really and use to improve our writing. I know my writing needs some improving. I believe writing in correct grammar and following the rules of writing is definitely a part of people liking your post and loving your post. :)

And, I will take a look at this as I believe I am making some mistakes as well while writing in my second language. English is this case.

Thank you for such an educational post and a book to read to improve my writing. I am sure many other users will be thankful as well.

Awesome post, keep educating, have the best day ever my friend. I love what you are doing and how you are helping others with your curation and posts such as this one. :)

Many times i am concerned on how to choose my words to convey the exact idea in me to my audience, and to avoid mistakes of word agreements. Written stuffs are easily misinterpreted at time, having a guide like this will be very helpful, i wish i can have the pdf of this book, adding this to my library will surely help me.
Nice one @ Mitneb, is it possible i have a copy on my device?