mistercrow's review against another edition
3.0
This is a really great guide in helping the writer trim down words to get to the point. It’s helpful as a guide on what to do and how to do certain aspects in writing too (such as keeping colloquialisms, grammar in parentheses, dialects, etc.)
That being said this hasn’t aged well (surprise!) and therefore it’s a great starter guide but keep in mind certain words and their spelling are now accepted. For example, “alright.”
Some aspects made me laugh such as removing certain phrases (“like”) although it’s handy to keep it in mind just to understand formal and informal writing. I also found this book a bit outdated because it doesn’t bring up English vernacular and excludes BIPOC’s English experiences. It still had a very colonialist look at English spelling and grammar, so keep this in mind.
Overall I did enjoy the aspect of trimming words to be concise. I felt that was useful, but don’t worry if you don’t take every advice.
That being said this hasn’t aged well (surprise!) and therefore it’s a great starter guide but keep in mind certain words and their spelling are now accepted. For example, “alright.”
Some aspects made me laugh such as removing certain phrases (“like”) although it’s handy to keep it in mind just to understand formal and informal writing. I also found this book a bit outdated because it doesn’t bring up English vernacular and excludes BIPOC’s English experiences. It still had a very colonialist look at English spelling and grammar, so keep this in mind.
Overall I did enjoy the aspect of trimming words to be concise. I felt that was useful, but don’t worry if you don’t take every advice.
rachelb36's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This little book holds a lot of to-the-point information, yet manages to be humorous, as well.
There were a few "rules" and comments that showed the authors' biases and opinions. A few words that they thought (or wished) were passing fads have proven the test of time. I did appreciate their defense of using the pronoun "he" when referring to "one," instead of using the plural "they." This idea has been the focus of drama, especially in recent years, but I prefer the traditional understanding.
I also liked that the authors admit that it's acceptable to break writing rules, but only if you know how to do it well.
This little book holds a lot of to-the-point information, yet manages to be humorous, as well.
There were a few "rules" and comments that showed the authors' biases and opinions. A few words that they thought (or wished) were passing fads have proven the test of time. I did appreciate their defense of using the pronoun "he" when referring to "one," instead of using the plural "they." This idea has been the focus of drama, especially in recent years, but I prefer the traditional understanding.
I also liked that the authors admit that it's acceptable to break writing rules, but only if you know how to do it well.
alisarae's review against another edition
4.0
I love this beautiful reference guide. The gorgeous design of the illustrated edition begs to be touched, looked at, and read. A benefit of this is I am subconciously committing these rules to memory. I wish more blog authors and journalists did the same!
mcastello13's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.5
I read this years ago when I was just starting out on my journey of writing seriously. I eventually chose nonfiction writing as my college major and it’s still a large part of my daily work - for which I am very grateful - and a craft I try to regularly practice on the side.
This book was certainly beneficial to me (and I believe much of its advice can still benefit all writers, or anyone who wants to improve their writing skills), but I don’t see it as the gold-standard guide I once did. I appreciate its brevity, but its snobbish tone turned me off this time around a lot more than it once did. A lot of its advice also feels out of touch and a bit silly (perhaps not surprising, considering its age).
All in all, I’m grateful for the lessons I learned years ago from this book, and which I still carry with me in my writing practice every day, but I don’t know that it’s the best or most helpful writing manual out there.
This book was certainly beneficial to me (and I believe much of its advice can still benefit all writers, or anyone who wants to improve their writing skills), but I don’t see it as the gold-standard guide I once did. I appreciate its brevity, but its snobbish tone turned me off this time around a lot more than it once did. A lot of its advice also feels out of touch and a bit silly (perhaps not surprising, considering its age).
All in all, I’m grateful for the lessons I learned years ago from this book, and which I still carry with me in my writing practice every day, but I don’t know that it’s the best or most helpful writing manual out there.
violetmoon's review against another edition
4.0
*** Simple Review ***
Interesting, informative, and a good reference book when needed. But it is not for everyone.
A must read for writers, but there is no need to follow it.
**** Complicated Review ****
The Most important thing to remember when reading this is, it is not a Rule Book, one does not have to follow it to the letter. It may be written as a rule book, but it isn't one. There are a number of mistakes, contradictions and other problems within its pages. But that does not make it any less interesting and useful in a number of ways. It does have some good points, some good and useful tips and hints. But in my opinion is more of a voluntary guide, gather all the information then decide whether you with to follow it or go your on direction.
Every writer is different. Every Writer has there own way of doing things. Some strictly follow Grammar, never slipping always double checking to make sure they got it write. Others throw Grammar out the door and just write. Some people look at The Elements of Style and see the holy text of writers, the highest and most perfect reference on writing and style, others see a pretentious book, that is a huge contradiction and full of useless facts and lessons.
What I see, is a book that gives an interesting insight into how the two authors view the English language and the styling of writing, and it has some interesting tips and lessons. Although most of it is not important and useless and can easily be tossed into the garbage, there are some good points.
The Elements of Style is a simple book, complicated by public opinion, which is split in a variety of directions. And yet I feel a must read for any writer, they don't need to follow the book, they don't have to learn anything by it.
Just read it, get an opinion, Love it, Hate it, it doesn't matter, just read it and then do whatever you want.
Interesting, informative, and a good reference book when needed. But it is not for everyone.
A must read for writers, but there is no need to follow it.
**** Complicated Review ****
The Most important thing to remember when reading this is, it is not a Rule Book, one does not have to follow it to the letter. It may be written as a rule book, but it isn't one. There are a number of mistakes, contradictions and other problems within its pages. But that does not make it any less interesting and useful in a number of ways. It does have some good points, some good and useful tips and hints. But in my opinion is more of a voluntary guide, gather all the information then decide whether you with to follow it or go your on direction.
Every writer is different. Every Writer has there own way of doing things. Some strictly follow Grammar, never slipping always double checking to make sure they got it write. Others throw Grammar out the door and just write. Some people look at The Elements of Style and see the holy text of writers, the highest and most perfect reference on writing and style, others see a pretentious book, that is a huge contradiction and full of useless facts and lessons.
What I see, is a book that gives an interesting insight into how the two authors view the English language and the styling of writing, and it has some interesting tips and lessons. Although most of it is not important and useless and can easily be tossed into the garbage, there are some good points.
The Elements of Style is a simple book, complicated by public opinion, which is split in a variety of directions. And yet I feel a must read for any writer, they don't need to follow the book, they don't have to learn anything by it.
Just read it, get an opinion, Love it, Hate it, it doesn't matter, just read it and then do whatever you want.
elenajohansen's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
Reading this took me straight back to seventh-grade English class in 1992, when my seriously old-school teacher had us learning grammar rules from the Little Blue Book (I don't remember what it was actually titled, but that's how everyone referred to it) and our tests were a blank sheet on which we would write from memory the twenty-nine rules for proper comma usage, or the thirty most common prepositions, or whatever other element of the language we were studying at the time.
The highly ordered part of my brain loved this teaching method, which I have never experienced in any other setting. Many of my fellow students hated it, of course, and it's utterly fair to criticize rote memorization as both a teaching tactic and a test metric.
But I credit a large part of my ease in writing as an adult to those lessons, and this book made me nostalgic for them, with the dry wit and classic-literature examples and the sometimes-outdated advice (despite me reading an updated edition from 2000 that included additions about computers and "E-mail"--I had almost forgotten that was the accepted form of the word 23 years ago.)
Is all of the information presented useful in this day and age? No. Is the bulk of it still solid? Absolutely.
Would Strunk or E.B. White be horrified by how wordy my casual writing style is, littered with probably-unnecessary adjectives and adverbs? Yes. But despite the fact that the work is ostensibly a rulebook for proper usage, it frequently reminds the reader that rules can be bent or broken when it serves a purpose. It treats the ultimate goal of writing as clarity in communication, where the gravest sin a writer can commit is leaving the reader confused by poor word choice or sentence construction. As a helper to making one's writing clearer, this book is one of the best I've read on the subject.
Do I love the illustrations in this edition? No, the art style is not to my taste. But that's not the text's fault, and also I received this book as a gift, so it's going to stay on my shelf anyway. It's earned a spot there.
The highly ordered part of my brain loved this teaching method, which I have never experienced in any other setting. Many of my fellow students hated it, of course, and it's utterly fair to criticize rote memorization as both a teaching tactic and a test metric.
But I credit a large part of my ease in writing as an adult to those lessons, and this book made me nostalgic for them, with the dry wit and classic-literature examples and the sometimes-outdated advice (despite me reading an updated edition from 2000 that included additions about computers and "E-mail"--I had almost forgotten that was the accepted form of the word 23 years ago.)
Is all of the information presented useful in this day and age? No. Is the bulk of it still solid? Absolutely.
Would Strunk or E.B. White be horrified by how wordy my casual writing style is, littered with probably-unnecessary adjectives and adverbs? Yes. But despite the fact that the work is ostensibly a rulebook for proper usage, it frequently reminds the reader that rules can be bent or broken when it serves a purpose. It treats the ultimate goal of writing as clarity in communication, where the gravest sin a writer can commit is leaving the reader confused by poor word choice or sentence construction. As a helper to making one's writing clearer, this book is one of the best I've read on the subject.
Do I love the illustrations in this edition? No, the art style is not to my taste. But that's not the text's fault, and also I received this book as a gift, so it's going to stay on my shelf anyway. It's earned a spot there.
colinmeldrum's review against another edition
4.0
The example sentences and the modern editor's notes are very useful.