A book review on The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

“Its Xavier days Jane, but you have to do your assignments.”

If you read the 4^th edition of The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, you would notice the flaws in the sentence (though they are few). Crack open the book so you’ll know.

I can’t imagine how a very thin book can cost so much and contain a lot. One of its advantage is its size—it’s handy. Another is it’s short and concise. Everything you need to know in writing and grammar is compressed in over 100 flips. The book contains elementary rules of usage, elementary rules of composition, few matters of form, words and expressions commonly misused, and an approach to style. The first chapters are purely educational—serious but not tedious. The last chapter is entertaining.

Rule 17 in chapter II says, “Omit needless words.” This rule isn’t new but I always fail to follow it. This is the most famous rule in this volume. “Every word tells,” say Strunk and White. Their explanation has great impact that I want to quote every line, but I prefer not to because it will overload my article with quotations, and that’s bad writing. Strunk and White omitted needless words to come up with a slim volume.

In the 4^th chapter—words and expressions commonly misused—I was thankful that I didn’t skip a word. Flammable, for example, is one of the terms I often use, but swear not to because it’s wrong. It should be inflammable when you mean combustible. I also interchange words like fewer and less. The former refers to number while the latter to quantity.

The last chapter of the book was the best. It motivated me to keep writing and to write my style. “The act of composition, or creation, disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind but supply it, too.” It also taught me how to behave as a writer. “Remember, it is no sign of weakness or defeat that your manuscript ends up in need of major surgery.” The best writers have gone through this; there’s no need to feel shame.

I appreciate everything in the book including the glossary. It helped me a lot especially when I read the first four chapters. Learning would be difficult if I didn’t know grammar.

The Elements of Style is a book as slim as a straw; with knowledge as thick as a cake.