This is also true for more technical writing, where the last part of the paragraph should serve as a final summary and overview of the paragraph. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition. The dust jacket has minor chipping with some foxing along the edges and spine. Commissioned by Macmillan to revise Strunk's book, White edited the 1959 and 1972 editions of The Elements of Style. I’m still looking to improve though. Men Who Hate Women: Relationships & Psychology of Misogynists, How to Learn: The Three Pillars of Mastery, How to Make Someone Your Bitch: Trump Case Study, Power Strategy 101: Mix Power With Warmth, Don’t use flowery and long sentences: they don’t make you look smart but dumber, Remove all the words, adjectives and expressions that are not necessary (and remove most adverbs), Write in a chronological sequence and format in logical sequence (one paragraph: one idea, go from simpler to more complex), Always make it easy and clear for the reader to understand, He doesn’t have it in him anymore (when you want to stress the negative instead of the positive), I don’t know (instead of “I know little of that”: sometimes negative is just more natural), Sequence words (to begin with, first, finally), Additional information (furthermore, moreover, on top of that.. ), Examples (for example, for instance, such as.. ), Summary (to sum it up, overall, in conclusion), Don’t repeat the same idea multiple times with different words, Adjectives and qualifiers such as “very”, “pretty much”, “rather” can be safely removed, Read your material looking for ways to streamline, Use simple words (unless to avoid repetition or to cause a specific effect), Limit the usage of adverbs (and don’t rely on them to explain your text), Change your sentence structure (or your text will seem monotone), Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘s, In series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last. It aims at providing a set of rules and tips on how to write properly, if not elegantly. These days many software designed to help you write better text will suggest you to pick the active voice instead of the passive one. If you have a strong, emphatic word, you should place it at the end of the sentence. If your girlfriend came over with a nice bottle of wine, then rewrite: I was writing this article when my girlfriend came over with a nice bottle of wine. And starting a new paragraph means you have moved on to a (slightly) different topic or idea. stream In short, it is a great book for improving English writing and speaking. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition. Do not join independent clauses by a comma. One paragraph should represent one idea or one topic. Strunk and Write put their writing where their mouth is: The Elements of Style is clear and concise. x��[[s��~ׯ�[���b�'7V:�Ǝk+i�A��h��߳� �d�N William Strunk, Jr. This is especially true when writing technical texts as well as copy to sell a product, where you would come across too “salesy” (read: Web Copy That Sells). Idiomatic in familiar speech as a detached phrase in the sense, "Agreed," or "Go ahead." Using as a coaster for cold drinks. 351 However, don’t overdo it or it comes across as too flowery and like you’re trying too hard. The revisions to the new edition are purposely kept minimal in order to retain the book's unique tone, wit, and charm. So if you are serious about getting the most out of this book, you should consider getting the full version. 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