The Elements of Style: Classic Edition (2018)

by William Strunk Jr, Richard De A'Morelli

Overview

This expanded and updated 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, plus 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. This edition also features some other enhancements making this grammar handbook even more useful:

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

2. Emojis have been added to help readers identify correct examples from faulty grammar 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.

Note: Some courses may alternatively specify Elements of Style 4th Edition by E.B. White, or Elements of Style 2017, loosely based on Strunk's book with over 500 up-to-date grammar and style rules for students and writers. If you are looking for one of these editions, check your favorite bookseller or college bookstore for details.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643990033
Publisher:	Spectrum Ink Publishing
Publication date:	07/23/2018
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	124
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.26(d)

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 (Family) 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

Quotations

References

Hyphenation

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

Editorial Reviews

Review by ZyPhReXon (Top #3000 Amazon Reviewer)
The Elements of Style: Classic Edition

As a preamble, what follows is a not only a review but a revamped cursory juxtaposition between The Elements Of Style: Classic Edition, which is the main book discussed and reviewed, and The Elements Of Style 4th Edition, which is a slightly similar book covering many of the same rules.

Having purchased both within the last month, I thought it prudent to comment on some of the differences between both books. Although somewhat alike, both books still differ in some respects, but both offer ample from which any individual may learn much from.

The Elements Of Style [Classic Edition] by William Strunk Jr. and edited by Richard De A'Morelli is meant as a tribute to the work Prof. Strunk undertook over 100 years ago in creating this book. This particular book features a forward by Richard De A'Morelli titled Grammar & Style For The 21st Century, instead of the one written by Roger Angell in the 4th Edition. The former is eight pages long, while the latter is only two pages long. De A'Morelli's foreword sets the stage better in this book than the previous book.

The book blurb does mention that there are some rules which are now obsolete, and there are editorial notes which focus on that in the book.

One really significant improvement in the Classic Edition is that after each Rule is mentioned and examples are shown, it's much easier to discern which are the good examples and which ones are not.

The Elements Of Style: Classic Edition covers a wide range of elements within writing. From form, composition, mistakes in diction, to a few other common mistakes done in writing, the book gives a very solid foundation upon which writers may begin their adventures.

Overall, given all the book offers in such a small package, it really is a great deal and a high value educational book--any individual working on their writing skills would benefit from having it.

From the Publisher