While searching our database for White's co-author of The Elements of Style Find out the answers and solutions for the famous crossword by New York Times. The controversy, however, erupted long before the latest edition. I have always wanted to visit Spain. The Elements of Style Summary & Study Guide Description. The break between them serves the purpose of a rhetorical pause, throwing into prominence some detail of the action. Better use the same number of words to tell what Miss A. sang, or if the programme has already been given, to tell how she sang. Strunk, William, Jr., and E. White, The Elements of Style, 3d ed., Macmillan, 1979, p. 21. An Approach to Style gives a list of reminders on effective writing. Isn't that one of the beauties of reading? In this example, at least, the construction is plainly illogical. In the late 1950s, a war flared between liberal and conservative language authorities. They poke gentle fun at human beings of both genders and show disregard for none.
How tortured is their reasoning? Critics writing from a number of different perspectives, from postmodernist to feminist, have pointed out the myriad ways in which the writing of white males—whether they lived in ancient Greece or the twentieth-century United States—supposedly denigrates everyone else. Coauthors of "The Elements of Style, " ___ and White. And those rules have seldom been more clearly set out than in Strunk and White's 5-ounce text, The Elements of Style. Also, you don't need a comma between "intelligence" and "or. "
The antithesis of negative and positive is strong: Not charity, but simple justice. One hundred and one. The truth is that plot, character, and setting as well as using appropriate sentence and paragraph length are more important than using a few words correctly. The effectiveness of the periodic sentence arises from the prominence which it gives to the main statement. Sentences violating this rule are often ludicrous. Trafalgar, which was Nelson's last battle||Trafalgar, Nelson's last battle|.
One example of proper use of the dash is "His first thought on getting out of bed—if he had any thought at all—was to get back in again. " In the past couple of decades, virtually every literary work bearing the label "classic" has been assailed as misogynistic, irrelevant, or both. On the topic of the use of commas in parenthetical expressions, Hacker says, "Expressions that are distinctly parenthetical should be set off with commas. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic||15|. Then again, because we would not write them anymore we pay attention, we are tempted to analyze them.
In these two senses, the word is usually unnecessary. Despite these caveats, neither Strunk nor White offers students useful suggestions for cultivating actual literary style, because they mistakenly assume that grammatical and mechanical proficiency is the same as style, which even the book itself proves to be nowhere near the case. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. As a rule, avoid making one passive depend directly upon another. And all writers must take seriously the perceptions of "correctness" in English. I also hate Strunk and White. One cannot help thinking largely because they made little attempt to save themselves.
Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. Instead of announcing that what you are about to tell is interesting, make it so. Not to be used as a substitute for rather (before adjectives and verbs), or except in familiar style, for something like (before nouns). As a rule, I am not a fan of criticism. Do you mind my asking a question? He lives far from the madding crowd. My objections are, first, that the measure is unjust; second, that it is unconstitutional. Few mistakes have been made. I find this book fascinating, especially when comparing it to modern style guides. White follows this with words that are slung together in his own distinctive style and that beg to be quoted. It is not that every detail is given; that would be impossible, as well as to no purpose; but that all the significant details are given, and not vaguely, but with such definiteness that the reader, in imagination, can project himself into the scene. COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1. Equivalent to and the rest, and so forth, and hence not to be used if one of these would be insufficient, that is, if the reader would be left in doubt as to any important particulars.
Strunk and White take a famous line from American patriot Thomas Paine ("These are the times that try men's souls") and recast it in several ways to show why Paine's simple declarative sentence is the most powerful form in which to express his thought. Political magazines also were having a heyday, with National Review in which William F. Buckley Jr. espoused the views of the right and the Nation and the New Republic which espoused views of the left. In truth, such rules as, for instance, the pre-eminence of the active over the passive voice, or the superiority of the positive over the negative mode in a sentence (which, at the time, were perhaps not as evident), have become the sesame of communication, advocated at school, in business and even in spelling and grammar software. Used for fuel purposes||used for fuel|. A bit silly, and as many readers might have picked recognized, writing books have "she" in a lot of them. He thought as I did (like me). A long and narrow passage overhung on either side by a stupendous barrier of black and threatening rocks. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United States. This also means that writers can continue to learn, to interact, and to write understandably and not wastefully. I had been taught how to pass tests on books, but not how to read them. Consequently, I had this " grammatical crisis", the same as the law term " constitutional crisis" when a government agency is unable to function effectively because of the ambiguous and illogical application of the law. However discouraging the prospect, he never lost heart. Lisa of Troy Takes on Two Prestigious Literary Heavyweights.
A loose sentence formed with but can always be converted into a periodic sentence formed with although, as illustrated under Rule 4. Another set of eleven rules addresses structure in written work, moving from the overall structure of a piece ("Choose a suitable design and hold to it") to sentence structure ("Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end"). I also enjoyed A Few Matters of Form. He says that you are illiterate if you don't know that inflammable means combustible. We day-trade in language, gambling that a hot image will hold up. William Strunk would be shuddering at my using this adjective. ) He says again, this time with a slight grin. Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you! )
"—you can almost hear him yelling them in a crowded classroom—his voice harsh and nasal, his skin pale, his face cleanly shaven, wearing a tweed jacket and tapping the lectern with an open palm. The public is invited. The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman. Used between independent clauses, it indicates only that a relation exists between them without defining that relation. As they make complete sense when the comma is reached, the second clause has the appearance of an afterthought. I remember, my Freshman year, sitting in the Music Building lounge waiting for my next class when Maryanne came crashing in, with an appropriate amount of chaos, announcing to all "Oh crap, I can't find my Strunk and White. " Apparently, the authors felt free and creative when they wrote it, and freedom and creativity are what they preach and value. Ordinarily, however, a subject requires subdivision into topics, each of which should be made the subject of a paragraph. Mr. Edward Appleton was the soloist, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra furnished the instrumental music. To do so is to put on airs, as though you were inviting the reader to join you in a select society of those who know better. Avoid this word as a perfunctory means of introduction. In proportion as men delight in battles, bull-fights, and combats of gladiators, will they punish by hanging, burning, and the rack.
Any element in the sentence, other than the subject, may become emphatic when placed first. All in all, Americans read less and watch more than they did in the past. We were to treat it like the Holy Grail of grammar, carry it with us at all times, sleep with it, and consider it our eternal faithful lover. He is studying along the line of French literature. A comparison of the three forms given above will show clearly the advantage of the first. This passage also says as much about its writer as its topic, and reminds us how vivid and strange experience is by surprising us with its unprecedented technique.