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This article was so much better than what I though it would be Does anyone know about "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace" ? Seems like an interesting book

by abc3354 14d ago

stackghost 14d ago
Can't vouch for that but I can vouch for `Dreyer's English` as both hilarious (if you're the sort of person who relishes finding le mot juste, like me) and excellent as a style guide.
bobmarleybiceps 14d ago
Yeah it's very short, but I can't remember if I read all of it, or just flipped through pieces. It has good advice and I think fairly "famous." (edit: this reminded me I still have my copy :-D) I know someone in a profession that does a lot of writing, and it blew my mind how clearly feedback was communicated by a superior. Made me wish tech people had better written communication skills. ;-;
cbfrench 14d ago
It’s good—better than the much-revered Elements of Style, imho, which is overly prescriptive and frankly unhelpful at turns, even if it’s well written. But my all-time favorite is Virginia Tufte’s Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. It illustrates the variety of English sentence structures in an ordered way with a plethora of examples. The approach is not prescriptive; rather, it allows you inductively to develop a feel for the syntactical rhythms of the language. Also, I love Stanley Fish’s How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One. It’s a lovely, entertaining little book, filled with Fish’s insights as an eminent literary critic. What I appreciate most about the book is that Fish walks you through a number of examples and explains how and why they work, so you can walk away as both a better writer and a better reader.
ramblurr 14d ago
Paperback copies in EU seem to be very expensive (90+€ on amazone.de) unfortunately.
- Tomte 13d ago
  It‘s been available under different variations of the title, you don‘t need the latest one, and amazon.de should have a used copy for five Euros or so.
K0nserv 14d ago
I've been reading Steven Pinker's "The Sense of Style". Unlike "The Elements of Style", which is fine, it does a good job anchoring its suggestion in first principals. I do think I need to read a book on grammar to truly appreciate it though. "On Writing" is another book like "The Elements of Style", both are too prescriptive, albeit not useless.
- dwhitney 13d ago
  Steven Pinker’s “The Language Instinct” is not a bad book for learning grammar. It’s a book about linguistics - not specifically grammar, but it covers diagramming sentences, and grammar falls out from there
- Tomte 13d ago
  I found his description of Classical Style very confusing and disorganized. You‘re much better off reading the original, Thomas & Turner.
pjm331 13d ago
Clear and simple as the truth - another good one

This article was so much better than what I though it would be Does anyone know about "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace" ? Seems like an interesting book

by abc3354 14d ago

This article was so much better than what I though it would be Does anyone know about "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace" ? Seems like an interesting book

stackghost 14d ago

Can't vouch for that but I can vouch for `Dreyer's English` as both hilarious (if you're the sort of person who relishes finding le mot juste, like me) and excellent as a style guide.

bobmarleybiceps 14d ago

Yeah it's very short, but I can't remember if I read all of it, or just flipped through pieces. It has good advice and I think fairly "famous." (edit: this reminded me I still have my copy :-D) I know someone in a profession that does a lot of writing, and it blew my mind how clearly feedback was communicated by a superior. Made me wish tech people had better written communication skills. ;-;

cbfrench 14d ago

It’s good—better than the much-revered Elements of Style, imho, which is overly prescriptive and frankly unhelpful at turns, even if it’s well written. But my all-time favorite is Virginia Tufte’s Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. It illustrates the variety of English sentence structures in an ordered way with a plethora of examples. The approach is not prescriptive; rather, it allows you inductively to develop a feel for the syntactical rhythms of the language. Also, I love Stanley Fish’s How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One. It’s a lovely, entertaining little book, filled with Fish’s insights as an eminent literary critic. What I appreciate most about the book is that Fish walks you through a number of examples and explains how and why they work, so you can walk away as both a better writer and a better reader.

ramblurr 14d ago

Paperback copies in EU seem to be very expensive (90+€ on amazone.de) unfortunately.

Tomte 13d ago
It‘s been available under different variations of the title, you don‘t need the latest one, and amazon.de should have a used copy for five Euros or so.

K0nserv 14d ago

I've been reading Steven Pinker's "The Sense of Style". Unlike "The Elements of Style", which is fine, it does a good job anchoring its suggestion in first principals. I do think I need to read a book on grammar to truly appreciate it though. "On Writing" is another book like "The Elements of Style", both are too prescriptive, albeit not useless.

dwhitney 13d ago
Steven Pinker’s “The Language Instinct” is not a bad book for learning grammar. It’s a book about linguistics - not specifically grammar, but it covers diagramming sentences, and grammar falls out from there
Tomte 13d ago
I found his description of Classical Style very confusing and disorganized. You‘re much better off reading the original, Thomas & Turner.

pjm331 13d ago

Clear and simple as the truth - another good one