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The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. I've given it to just about everyone I've known who seriously wanted to be a writer, journalist, etc. as well as some

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. I've given it to just about everyone I've known who seriously wanted to be a writer, journalist, etc. as well as some folks who just wanted to write better. It's a small, beautiful, book about writing better. This is the book I've gifted the most. Several scifi books have also been gifted to friends, mostly Asimov (both the Foundation and Robots series), Herbert's Dune, and Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama. Also, gifted a copy of Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, which is my favorite book about my favorite bands (and the American punk scene of the early 80s). The recipient was too young to remember the scene from that era, but was open to understanding why "punk" isn't so much a style of music, but an ethos. Every book I've gifted is because I really love the book, and really like the person I'm giving it to.

omaranto 10y ago
With Strunk & White I think you should ignore their advice which is often confused or nonsensical and just imitate their prose which is delightful. This review explains it better than I could: http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497 http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/2549...
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  Is there a more correct book that is similarly concise and similarly well-written? I would love to read it, if so. Edit: I found this blog post that lists some alternatives http://thewritingresource.net/2011/09/22/forget-everything-strunk-white-told-you/ http://thewritingresource.net/2011/09/22/forget-everything-s... About half of the titles are punny or plays on words, which I'm somewhat suspicious of (even though I like puns). And, all are at least twice the size of Strunk and White. I understand that some subjects are bigger than a ~100 page book can cover, but despite having spent a lot of my life writing (and having published a book), I've never been able to plod through a big grammar book. I can read Elements of Style in an afternoon without feeling like it's a chore. As noted in some of the reviews, if it's wrong it's not worth even that much effort. But, I never thought it was predominantly wrong or predominantly misleading. And, it usually reminds me about one or more of my negative writing habits, and I correct it for a while until I forget again.
  - amiramir 10y ago
    I'm not sure if this is "correct" but "Eats, shoots & leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation"[1] is a fun read on an adjacent topic. It too gets berated by some but I enjoyed it and learned a thing or two. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038 https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuat...
    - SwellJoe 10y ago
      I've read that, as well. Enjoyed it, but never think of it when I'm trying to name a great book for aspiring writers, and it really only covers an area (punctuation) that I don't find terribly challenging. I've been searching and reading reviews ever since reading omaranto's comment, and the market segment seems to be entirely cornered by Elements of Style. There's simply nothing in the same category, in terms of size, that is anywhere near as well-regarded as Elements. Even a book called How to Write Short is nearly three times as long. I've (tried to) read many bigger books about style, usage, and grammar, of course, but I really would like a book I can plow through just before I sit down to write something large. Like, the day before NaNoWriMo starts, or before I embark on an editing pass of my company's documentation, just read it all in one sitting as a refresher on how to write clearly and effectively. I've always used Strunk and White for this purpose. I don't want to be a grammar scholar, I just want to write better and more clearly, and I think a lot of folks are in that position; which likely explains the enduring popularity of Strunk and White, despite its critics.
      - sateesh 10y ago
        You can check "Economist style guide"[1] 1. http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
  - nabusman 10y ago
    On Writing Well by William Zinsser was a great book on writing. Though it's a bit more conceptual than Strunk and White.
- moyix 10y ago
  I tend to think of Strunk and White like training wheels: eventually you should take them off and break the rules (as George Orwell said in his similarly-maligned "Politics and the English Language", "Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous") in pursuit of clear, beautiful prose, but for a beginner the rules can be a lifeline. If nothing else, their constraints provide a new writer a framework on which to hang their thoughts, and force them to think carefully about how their prose is constructed. The experience of thinking about one's writing structurally, and how that structure can be used for stylistic effect, is something that I suspect does not come naturally to new writers, and it's what I found most valuable about Strunk and White when I was taught it in high school. I also, someday, would love to try my hand at teaching writing style using Freddie de Boer's technique: http://fredrikdeboer.com/2015/12/07/teaching-style-to-freshmen-why-how/ http://fredrikdeboer.com/2015/12/07/teaching-style-to-freshm... But being a CS professor I doubt I'll have that opportunity any time soon :)
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- mcphage 10y ago
  That was wonderful, thank you :-)
peckrob 10y ago
I have large portions of that book memorized thanks to the Journalism courses I took in college. "Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise."

omaranto 10y ago

With Strunk & White I think you should ignore their advice which is often confused or nonsensical and just imitate their prose which is delightful. This review explains it better than I could: http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497 http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/2549...

SwellJoe 10y ago
Is there a more correct book that is similarly concise and similarly well-written? I would love to read it, if so. Edit: I found this blog post that lists some alternatives http://thewritingresource.net/2011/09/22/forget-everything-strunk-white-told-you/ http://thewritingresource.net/2011/09/22/forget-everything-s... About half of the titles are punny or plays on words, which I'm somewhat suspicious of (even though I like puns). And, all are at least twice the size of Strunk and White. I understand that some subjects are bigger than a ~100 page book can cover, but despite having spent a lot of my life writing (and having published a book), I've never been able to plod through a big grammar book. I can read Elements of Style in an afternoon without feeling like it's a chore. As noted in some of the reviews, if it's wrong it's not worth even that much effort. But, I never thought it was predominantly wrong or predominantly misleading. And, it usually reminds me about one or more of my negative writing habits, and I correct it for a while until I forget again.
- amiramir 10y ago
  I'm not sure if this is "correct" but "Eats, shoots & leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation"[1] is a fun read on an adjacent topic. It too gets berated by some but I enjoyed it and learned a thing or two. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038 https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuat...
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    I've read that, as well. Enjoyed it, but never think of it when I'm trying to name a great book for aspiring writers, and it really only covers an area (punctuation) that I don't find terribly challenging. I've been searching and reading reviews ever since reading omaranto's comment, and the market segment seems to be entirely cornered by Elements of Style. There's simply nothing in the same category, in terms of size, that is anywhere near as well-regarded as Elements. Even a book called How to Write Short is nearly three times as long. I've (tried to) read many bigger books about style, usage, and grammar, of course, but I really would like a book I can plow through just before I sit down to write something large. Like, the day before NaNoWriMo starts, or before I embark on an editing pass of my company's documentation, just read it all in one sitting as a refresher on how to write clearly and effectively. I've always used Strunk and White for this purpose. I don't want to be a grammar scholar, I just want to write better and more clearly, and I think a lot of folks are in that position; which likely explains the enduring popularity of Strunk and White, despite its critics.
    - sateesh 10y ago
      You can check "Economist style guide"[1] 1. http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
- nabusman 10y ago
  On Writing Well by William Zinsser was a great book on writing. Though it's a bit more conceptual than Strunk and White.
moyix 10y ago
I tend to think of Strunk and White like training wheels: eventually you should take them off and break the rules (as George Orwell said in his similarly-maligned "Politics and the English Language", "Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous") in pursuit of clear, beautiful prose, but for a beginner the rules can be a lifeline. If nothing else, their constraints provide a new writer a framework on which to hang their thoughts, and force them to think carefully about how their prose is constructed. The experience of thinking about one's writing structurally, and how that structure can be used for stylistic effect, is something that I suspect does not come naturally to new writers, and it's what I found most valuable about Strunk and White when I was taught it in high school. I also, someday, would love to try my hand at teaching writing style using Freddie de Boer's technique: http://fredrikdeboer.com/2015/12/07/teaching-style-to-freshmen-why-how/ http://fredrikdeboer.com/2015/12/07/teaching-style-to-freshm... But being a CS professor I doubt I'll have that opportunity any time soon :)
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
mcphage 10y ago
That was wonderful, thank you :-)

peckrob 10y ago

I have large portions of that book memorized thanks to the Journalism courses I took in college. "Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise."