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A review by torts
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White
4.0
Funnier than I'd imagined it to be. Also, having read it I am now incredibly self-conscious about the way I'm writing. Awkward.
Anyway, the rules Strunk laid out were pretty concise and had helpful elaborations. Many of them felt like common sense tips on how to be clear, but there were also occasional hard and fast rules for phrasing and punctuation which were helpful to have. White's section at the end on style was definitely a divergence from Strunk's straightforward voice, but it was a nice demonstration of form and function working together. It was funny when the rules were explained in such a way that the explanation itself demonstrated why the rule should be followed by breaking that rule...
Another awkward thing: Strunk likes the Oxford comma. And adding 's after all singular possessives. I like these choices too, but AP style has convinced me that they are technically wrong. Stupid newspapers.
Anyway, the rules Strunk laid out were pretty concise and had helpful elaborations. Many of them felt like common sense tips on how to be clear, but there were also occasional hard and fast rules for phrasing and punctuation which were helpful to have. White's section at the end on style was definitely a divergence from Strunk's straightforward voice, but it was a nice demonstration of form and function working together. It was funny when the rules were explained in such a way that the explanation itself demonstrated why the rule should be followed by breaking that rule...
Another awkward thing: Strunk likes the Oxford comma. And adding 's after all singular possessives. I like these choices too, but AP style has convinced me that they are technically wrong. Stupid newspapers.