The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
Elementary Principles of Composition
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Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.
The beginning of each paragraph is a signal that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached.
After the paragraph has been written, it should be examined to see whether subdivision will not improve it.
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As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning.
The most generally useful kind of paragraph, particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which
a). The topic sentence comes at or near the beginning;
b). The succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the statement made in the topic sentence; and
c) the final sentence either emphasizes the thought of the topic sentence or sites some important consequence.
Ending with a digression, or with an unimportant detail, is particularly to be avoided.
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Use the active voice
The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive:
I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.
This is much better than
My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.
The second sentence is less direct, less bold, and less concise. If the writer tries to make it more concise by omitting “by me”
This rule does not, of course, mean that the writer should entirely discard the passive voice, which is frequently convenient and sometimes necessary.
The dramatists of the Restoration are little esteemed today.
Modern readers have little esteem for the dramatists of the Restoration.
The first would be the right form in a paragraph on the dramatists of the Restoration; the second, in a paragraph on the tastes of modern readers. The need of making a particular word the subject of the sentence will often, as in these examples, determine which voice is to be used.
The habitual use of the active voice however, makes for forcible writing. This is true not only in narrative principally concerned with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by substituting a transitive in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as there is or could be heard.
Example 1. Good. There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground.
Bad: Dead leaves covered the ground.
Example 2. Good: The sound of the falls could still be heard.
Bad: The sound of the falls still reached our ears.
As a rule, avoid making one passive depend directly upon another.
Example 1. Bad: Gold was not allowed to be exported.
Good: It was forbidden to export gold.
Example 2. Bad: He has been proved to have been seen entering the building.
Good: It has been proved that he was seen to enter the building.
A common fault is to use as the subject of a passive construction a noun which expresses the entire action, leaving to the verb no function be found that of completing the sentence.
Example 1: Bad: A survey of this region was made in 1900.
Good: This region was surveyed in 1900.
Example 2: Bad: Mobilization of the army was rapidly carried out.
Good. The army was rapidly mobilized.
Example 3: Bad: Confirmation of these reports cannot be obtained.
Good: These reports cannot be confirmed.
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Put statements in positive form.
Make definite assertions. Avoid tame. Colourless, hesitation, non-committal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.
Example 1: Bad: He was not very often on time.
Good: He usually came late.
Example 2: Bad: He did not think that studying Latin was much use.
Good: He thought the study of Latin useless.
These examples show the weakness inherent in the word not. Consciously or unconsciously, the reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not; he wishes to be told what is. Hence, as a rule, it is better to express a negative in positive form.
Bad: not honest Good: dishonest
Not important trifling
Did not remember forgot
Did not pay any attention to ignored
Did not have much confidence in distrusted
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Omit needless words.
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
Many expressions in common use violate this principle:
Bad: the question as to whether Good: whether
There is no doubt but that no doubt
His story is a strange one His story is strange
In especial the expression the fact that should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs.
Bad: owing to the fact that Good: since (because)
In spite of the fact that though (although)
I was unaware of the fact that. I was unaware that (did not know)
Who is , which was, and the like are often superfluous.
Example 1: Bad: His brother, who is a member of the same firm
Good: His brother, member of the same firm
Example2: Bad: Trafalgar, which was Nelson’s last battle
Good: Trafalgar, Nelson’s last battle
As positive statement is more concise than negative, and the active voice more concise than the passive, many of the examples given under Rule 11 and 12 illustrate this rule as well.
A common violation of conciseness is the presentation of a single complex idea, step by step, in a series of sentences which might to advantage be combined into one.
Example :
Bad: Macbeth was very ambitious. This led him to wish to become king of Scotland. The witches told him that this wish of his would come true. The king of Scotland at this time was Duncan. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murdered Duncan. He was thus enabled to succeed Duncan as king. (55 words)
Good: Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth achieved his ambition and realized the prediction of the witches by murdering Duncan and becoming king of Scotland in his place. (26 words)
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Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
This rule refers especially to loose sentences of a particular type, those consisting of two co-ordinate clauses, the second introduced by a conjunction or relative.
An unskilful writer will sometimes construct a whole paragraph of sentences of this kind, using as connectives and , but, and less frequently, who, which, when, where, and while, these last in nonrestrictive senses.
Example.
The third concert of the subscription series was given last evening, and a large audience was in attendance. Mr. Edward Appleton was the soloist, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra furnished the instrumental music. The former showed himself to be an artist of the first rank, while the ;latter proved itself fully deserving of its high reputation. The interest aroused by the series has been very gratifying to the Committee, and it is planned to give a similar series annually hereafter. The fourth concert will be given on Tuesday, May 10, when an equally attractive programme will be presented.
Apart from its triteness and emptiness, the paragraph above is bad because of the structure of its sentences, with their mechanical symmetry and sin-song.
If the writer finds that he has written a series of sentences of the type described, he should recast enough of them to remove the monotony, replacing them by simple sentences, by sentences of two clauses joined by a semicolon, by periodic sentences of two clauses, by sentences, loose or periodic, of three clauses – whichever best represent the real relations of the thought.
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Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form.
This principle, that of parallel construction, requires that expressions of similar content and function should be outwardly similar. The likeness of form enables the reader to recognize more readily the likeness of content and function.
The unskilful writer often violates this principle, from a mistaken belief that he should constantly vary the form of his expressions. It is true that in repeating a statement in order to emphasize it he may have need to vary its form. But apart from this, he should follow the principle of parallel construction.
Example:
Bad: Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method, while now the laboratory method is employed.
Good: Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method; now it is taught by the laboratory method.
The bad version gives the impression that the writer is undecided or timid; he seems unable or afraid to choose one form of expression and hold to it. The good version shows that the writer has at least made his choice and abided by it.
By this principle, an article or a preposition applying to all the members of a series myst either be used only before the first term or else be repeated before each term
Example:
Bad: The French, the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese.
In spring, summer, or in winter
Good: The French, the Italians, the Spanish, and the Portuguese
In spring, summer, or winter (In spring, in Sumer, or in winter)
Correlative expressions (both, and; not, but; not only, but also; either, or; first, second, third; and the like) should be followed by the same grammatical construction.
Example:
Bad: It was both a long ceremony and very tedious.
Good: The ceremony was both long and tedious.
Bad: A time not for words, but action
Good: A time not for words, but for action
Bad: Either you must grant his request or incur his ill will.
Good: You must either grant his request or incur his ill will.
Bad: My objections are , first, the injustice of the measure; second, that it is unconstitutional.
Good: My objections are, first, that the measure is unjust; second, that it is unconstitutional.
It may be asked, what if a writer needs to express a very large number of similar ideas, say twenty? Must he write twenty consecutive sentences of the same pattern? On closer examination he will probably find that the difficult is imaginary, that his twenty ideas can be classified in groups, and that he need apply the principle only within each group. Otherwise he had best avoid the difficulty by putting his statements in the form of a table.
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Keep related words together
The position of the words in a sentence is the principle means of showing their relationship. The writer myst therefore, so far as possible bring together the words, and groups of words, that tare related in thought, and keep apart those which are not so related.
The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to the beginning.
Example:
Bad: Wordsworth, in the fifth book of The Excursion, gives a minute description of this church.
Good: In the fifth book of The Excursion, Wordsworth gives a minute description of this church.
Bad: Cast iron, when treated in a Bessemer converter, is changed into steel.
Good: By treatment in a Bessemer converter, cast iron is changed into steel.
The objection is that the interposed phrase or clause needlessly interrupts the natural order of the main clause. This objection, however, does not usually hold when the order is interrupted only by a relative clause or by an expression in apposition. Nor does it hold in periodic sentences I which the interruption is a deliberately used means of creating suspense.
The relative pronoun should come, as a rule, immediately after its antecedent.
Example:
Bad: There was a look in his eye that boded mischief.
Good: In his eye was a look that boded mischief.
Bad: He wrote three articles about his adventures in Spain, which were published in Harper’s Magazine.
Good: He published in Harper’s Magazine tree articles about his adventures in Spain.
Bad: This is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison, who became President in 1889.
Good: This is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison. He became President in 1889.
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Keep related words together
The position of the words in a sentence is the principle means of showing their relationship. The writer must therefore, so far as possible bring together the words, and groups of words, that tare related in thought, and keep apart those which are not so related.
The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to the beginning.
Example:
Bad: Wordsworth, in the fifth book of The Excursion, gives a minute description of this church.
Good: In the fifth book of The Excursion, Wordsworth gives a minute description of this church.
Bad: Cast iron, when treated in a Bessemer converter, is changed into steel.
Good: By treatment in a Bessemer converter, cast iron is changed into steel.
The objection is that the interposed phrase or clause needlessly interrupts the natural order of the main clause. This objection, however, does not usually hold when the order is interrupted only by a relative clause or by an expression in apposition. Nor does it hold in periodic sentences which the interruption is a deliberately used means of creating suspense.
The relative pronoun should come, as a rule, immediately after its antecedent.
Example:
Bad: There was a look in his eye that boded mischief.
Good: In his eye was a look that boded mischief.
Bad: He wrote three articles about his adventures in Spain, which were published in Harper’s Magazine.
Good: He published in Harper’s Magazine tree articles about his adventures in Spain.
Bad: This is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison, who became President in 1889.
Good: This is a portrait of Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison. He became President in 1889.
Modifiers should come, if possible next to the word they modify. If several expressions modify the same word, they should be so arranged that n wrong relation is suggested.
Example:
Bad: All the members were not present.
Good: Not all the members were present.
Bad: He only found two mistakes.
Good: He found only two mistakes.
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In summaries, keep to one tense.
In summarizing the action of a drama, the writer should always use the present tense. In summarizing a poem, story, or novel, he should preferably use the present, though he may use the past if he prefers. If the summary is in the present tense, antecedent action should be expressed by the perfect; if in the past, by the past past perfect.
Example:
An unforeseen chance prevents Friar John from delivering Friar Lawrence’s letter to Romeo. Juliet, meanwhile, owing to her father’s arbitrary change of the day set for her wedding, has been compiled to drink the potion on Tuesday night, with the result the Balthasar informs Romeo of her supposed death before Friar Lawrence learns of the nondelivery of the letter.
But whichever tense be used in the summary, a past tense in indirect discourse or in indirect question remains unchanged.
Example:
The Legate inquires who struck the blow.
Apart from the exceptions noted, whichever tense the write chooses, he should use throughout. Shifting from one tense. to the other gives the appearance of uncertainty and irresolution.
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Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.
The proper place for the wordier group of words, which the writer desires to make most prominent is usually the end of the sentence.
Example:
Not Good: Humanity has hardly advanced in fortitude since that time, thought it has advanced in many other ways.
Good: Humanity, since that time, has advanced in many other ways, but it has hardly advance in fortitude.
Not Good: This steel is principally used for making razors, because of its hardness.
Good: Because of its hardness, this steel is principally used in making razors.
The other prominent position in the sentence is the beginning. Any element in the sentence, other than the subject, becomes emphatic when placed first.
Example:
Deceit or treachery he could never forgive.
So vast and rude, fretted by the action of nearly three thousand years, the fragments of this architecture may often seem, at first sight, like works of nature.
The principle that the proper place for what is to remade most prominent is the end allies equally to the words of a sentence, to the sentences of a paragraph, and to the paragraphs of a composition.
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A Few Matters of Form
Parentheses.
A sentence containing an expression in parentheses is punctuated, outside of the marks of parentheses, exactly as if the expression in parenthesis were absent. The expression within is punctuated as if it stood by itself, except that the final stop is committed unless it is a question mark or an exclamation point.
Example:
I went to his house yesterday (my third attempt to see him), but he had left town.
He declares (and why should we doubt his good faith?) that he is ow certain of success.
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Quotations.
Formal quotations, cited as documentary evidence, are introduced by a colon and enclosed in quotation marks.
Example:
The provision of the Constitution is: “No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.”
Quotations grammatically in apposition or the direct objects of verbs are preceded by a comma and enclosed in quotation marks.
Example:
I recall the maxim of La Rochefoucayld, “Gratitude is a lively sense of benefits to come.”
Aristotle say, “Art is an imitation of nature.”
Quotations of an entire line, or more, of verse, are begun on a fresh line and centred, but not enclosed in quotation marks.
Example:
Wordsworth’s enthusiasm for the Revolution was at first unbounded:
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!
Proverbial expressions and familiar phrases of literary origin require no quotation marks.
Example:
These are the times that try men’s souls.
He lives far from the madding crowd.
The same is true of colloquialisms and slang.
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Words and Expressions Commonly Misused
Compare
To compare to — to compare to is to point out or imply resembles, between projects regarded as essentially of different order.
To compare with — to compare with is mainly to point out differences, between objects regarded as essentially of the same order.
Example:
- Thus life has been compared to a pilgrimage, to a drama, to a battle.
- Congress may be compared with the British Parliament.
- Paris has been compared to ancient Athens.
- It may be compared with modern London.
Effect
As noun, means result; as verb, means to bring about, accomplish ( not to be confused with affect, which means “to influence”).
As noun, often loosely used in perfunctory writing about fashions, music, painting, and other arts: “an oriental effect;” “effects in pale green;” “very delicate effects;” “broad effects;” “subtle effects;” “a charming effect was produced by.” The writer who has a definite meaning to express will not take refuge in such vagueness.
However
In the meaning nevertheless, not to come first in its sentence or clause.
Example:
Bad: The roads were almost impassable. However, we at last succeeded in reaching camp.
Good: The roads were almost impassable. At last, however, we succeeded in reaching camp.
When however comes first, it means in whatever way or to whatever extent.
However you advise him, he will probably do as he thinks best.
However discouraging the prospect, he never los heart.
Less.
Should not be misused for fewer.
Example:
Bad: He had less men than in the previous campaign
Good: He had fewer men than in the previous campaign.
Less refers to quantity, fewer to number.
Example: His troubles are less than mine.
People
The people is a political term, not to be confused with the public. From the people comes political support or opposition; from the public comes artistic appreciation or commercial patronage.
The word people is not to be used with words of number, in place of persons. If of “six people” five went away, how many “people” would be left?
Respective, respectively
These words may usually be omitted with advantage.
Example:
Bad: Works of fiction are listed under the names of their respective authors.
Good: Works of fiction are listed under the names of their authors.
Bad: The one mile and two mile runs were won by Jones and Cummings respectively.
Good: The one mile and two mile runs were won by Jones and by Cummings.
In some kinds of formal writing, as in geometrical proofs, it may be necessary to use respectively, but it should not appear in writing on ordinary subjects.
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