STRUNK AND WHITE THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

FOURTH EDITION

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."

-William Strunk, Jr.
Making "every word tell" is what The Elements of Style is all about. This famous manual, now in a fourth edition, has conveyed the principles of plain English style to millions of readers. It is probably the only style manual ever to appear on the best seller lists. Whether you write letters, term papers, or novels, the "little" book, as it has come to be called can help you communicate more effectively. It will show you how to cut deadwood out of your sentences; enliven your prose with the active voice, put statements in a positive form; approach style