The Elements of Style

The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.

Introductory→

The Elements of Style ("Strunk & White") is an American English writing style guide. It is one of the most influential and best-known prescriptive treatments of English grammar and usage in the United States. It originally detailed eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, "a few matters of form," and a list of commonly misused words and expressions. Updated editions of the paperback book are often required reading for American high school and college composition classes.— Excerpted from The Elements of Style on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Brief contents

1. Introductory
2. Elementary Rules of Usage
3. Elementary Principles of Composition
4. A Few Matters of Form
5. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused
6. Words Commonly Misspelled

Contents

1. Introductory
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. A Few Matters of Form
5. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused
6. Words Commonly Misspelled

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923. It may be copyrighted outside the U.S. (see Help:Public domain).