The Elements of Style

From Strunk and White

Used with Permission from Dr. Peter McDermott

HIST-461 History and Historians

-Adam Erickson

Fundamentals

• Rules of usage: grammar and punctuation

• Matters of form: thesis, design, composition

• Avoid common mistakes using words and expressions

• Avoid clichés like the plague

Brevity

• “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 that the writer make all of his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

Possessives, Commas, etc.

• Singular possessives, write ’s, Plural possessives, write s’

• Exceptions: ancient proper names ’, as in Jesus’; pronouns, no ’

• It’s=it is. Its=possessive• In a series of terms, use a comma after each

except the last• Use commas for parenthetical expressions

Composition

• Have a plan• Use the active voice• Make definite assertions you are prepared to

support with evidence• Be concise. Avoid monotony.

Form

• Use quotation marks for quotations

• Use exclamation marks for exclamations

• The ellipsis. . ., not …

• The dash--, not - use infrequently

• Put the comma or the period inside the quotation marks

Style and why it matters

• Avoid conventional devices -- mannerisms, tricks, adornments, pomposity

• Use plainness, simplicity, orderliness, and sincerity

• Be patient and alert• Do not get in the way of your writing• Write with nouns and verbs• Revise and rewrite

Style

• Overwriting: “Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.”

• Overstating: you will lose the confidence of the reader• A chatty, spontaneous style may trivialize the subject• You must believe in the value of what you write and in

the ability of the reader to understand and appreciate it