The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.

The following is the 1920 edition of the famous writing text The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., which is in the public domain. This version is retrieved from Project Gutenberg under the Project Gutenberg License. More information about the Project Gutenberg License can be found here (as can the Project Gutenberg’s version of the text): https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37134/37134-h/37134-h.htm

The Elements of Style has been perhaps the most influential style guide in modern English, while while some of its advice is outdated, such as the spelling of tomorrow as to-morrow (updated in more recent copyrighted editions), much of it remains relevant and foundational, especially the points on composition. Indeed, Strunk’s points on writing style were so influential that are considered by many to be grammatical rules.

CONTENTS

PUBLIC DOMAIN INFORMATION

I. INTRODUCTORY

II. ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE

1.          Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘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 a conjunction introducing a co-ordinate 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

III. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION

1.          Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic
2.          As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning
3.        Use the active voice
4.        Put statements in positive form
5.        Use definite, specific, concrete language
6.        Omit needless words
7.        Avoid a succession of loose sentences
8.        Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
9.        Keep related words together
10.        In summaries, keep to one tense
11.        Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end

IV. A FEW MATTERS OF FORM

V. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED

VII. SPELLING

VII.     EXERCISES ON CHAPTERS II AND III