The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition

The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition

I have lived with the original edition for around 50 years. The fourth edition is an expanded but still concise guide containing practically everything that writers must know to write good English. There are other excellent and bigger books on the subject, but this beats them for sheer quality and brevity.

Very well written book, has helped me a lot in writing and helping my daughter with some of her courses.

If you are reading these reviews, you are either a writer or a student. Both of these appointments require the use of this book and regularly. Do not let your library be without this reference.

As textbooks go, this is a shiny penny. It is easy on the eyes and easy on the cerebrum. Many times I find myself consulting it for the proper placement of commas and such. I'll pick it up from time to time and read a few pages just to keep myself sharp. How many times I have out to use something I read in passing.

Buy it. Read it. Live it.

I didn't find this book very useful at all. The rules and rules of what is correct writing just didn't help me. It is good to know rules, but the inflexible manner of this book was not very useful. For instance, some books have to be grammatically incorrect. Sentence fragments, run-on sentences, etc. all can build tension or a feeling in a book, but this isn't allowed according to Strunk and White. A decent book at giving the fundamentals of style, but not one to slavishly ape.

Very good reference to improve your writing. This book will enable you to produce better essays. In addition, it is also recommended by the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, an alternative route to teaching in USA. A very handy pocketbook, you can take it anywhere. Remember, the more you practice writing, the better it gets. So, practice, practice, practice.