Scan barcode
A review by beths0103
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White
1.0
I hated, hated, HATED this book! Talk about literary elitism at its worst. This book annoyed me to no end because the entire tone of this book was, "If you write like this or if you say this, then it's wrong." So much of what was written in the "Improperly used words" section could be completely argued that language has evolved to the point where many of these rules don't apply anymore. I also didn't like the imperative manner in which it was written. Don't order me to do these things; give me encouragement, tell me what's good about writing, don't just tell me what not to do.
The last chapter of the book was much more positive, and I think that's because it was written by E.B. White. I could totally tell where one voice began and the other ended.
I guess what really upsets me most about this book is how discouraging it can be for beginning writers to see so many nit-picky "rules" of writing and find themselves saying, "Why bother?" For people who enjoy writing, maybe this book might be of some use as a way to give you "friendly reminders," but I fear beginning writers getting a hold of this book, saying, "Writing has way too many rules," and then giving up before they even try.
I have many other writing books in my collection that are written with voice and flow, and are inspirational rather than enraging. (e.g. [b: In the Middle|7332|The Silmarillion (Middle-Earth Universe)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336502583s/7332.jpg|4733799] by Nancie Atwell, [b: Clearing the Way|10419385|Clearing the Way|Mark Gasparotto|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347755005s/10419385.jpg|15323663] and [b:Crafting Authentic Voice|792647|Crafting Authentic Voice|Tom Romano|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389738019s/792647.jpg|778630] by Tom Romano, [b: The Craft of Revision|1203847|The Craft of Revision|Donald M. Murray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388632060s/1203847.jpg|1192164] by Donald M. Murray, [b: Style: Toward Clarity and Grace|246853|Style Toward Clarity and Grace|Joseph M. Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388197180s/246853.jpg|2053504] by Joseph M. Williams, etc.) I think I will continue to refer to those books rather than this one.
The last chapter of the book was much more positive, and I think that's because it was written by E.B. White. I could totally tell where one voice began and the other ended.
I guess what really upsets me most about this book is how discouraging it can be for beginning writers to see so many nit-picky "rules" of writing and find themselves saying, "Why bother?" For people who enjoy writing, maybe this book might be of some use as a way to give you "friendly reminders," but I fear beginning writers getting a hold of this book, saying, "Writing has way too many rules," and then giving up before they even try.
I have many other writing books in my collection that are written with voice and flow, and are inspirational rather than enraging. (e.g. [b: In the Middle|7332|The Silmarillion (Middle-Earth Universe)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336502583s/7332.jpg|4733799] by Nancie Atwell, [b: Clearing the Way|10419385|Clearing the Way|Mark Gasparotto|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347755005s/10419385.jpg|15323663] and [b:Crafting Authentic Voice|792647|Crafting Authentic Voice|Tom Romano|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389738019s/792647.jpg|778630] by Tom Romano, [b: The Craft of Revision|1203847|The Craft of Revision|Donald M. Murray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388632060s/1203847.jpg|1192164] by Donald M. Murray, [b: Style: Toward Clarity and Grace|246853|Style Toward Clarity and Grace|Joseph M. Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388197180s/246853.jpg|2053504] by Joseph M. Williams, etc.) I think I will continue to refer to those books rather than this one.