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The Elements of Style Paperback – 7 Sept. 1999

by William Strunk (Author), E. White (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7,955 ratings
#1 Best Seller in Language References
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You know the authors' names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition. A new Foreword by Roger Angell reminds readers that the advice of Strunk & White is as valuable today as when it was first offered.This book's unique tone, wit and charm have conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. Use the fourth edition of "the little book" to make a big impact with writing.
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  1. ISBN-10
    020530902X
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0205309023
  3. Edition
    4th
  4. Publisher
    Pearson
  5. Publication date
    7 Sept. 1999
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    17.78 x 11.43 x 0.76 cm
  8. Print length
    128 pages
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

Pearson University Higher Education Student Undergraduate Learning Textbook Study Guides

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Review

"...a marvellous and timeless little book... Here, succinctly, elegantly and without fuss are the essentials of writing clear, correct English."

John Clare, The Telegraph

From the Back Cover

Some acclaim for previous editions:

"Buy it, study it, enjoy it. It's as timeless as a book can be in our age of volubility."
― The New York Times

"No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent little volume."
― The Boston Globe

"White is one of the best stylists and most lucid minds in this country. What he says and his way of saying it are equally rewarding."
― The Wall Street Journal

"The book remains a nonpareil: direct, correct, and delightful."
― The New Yorker

". . . Should be the daily companion of anyone who writes for a living, and for that matter, anyone who writes at all."
― Greensboro (N.C.) Daily News

"This excellent book, which should go off to college with every freshman, is recognized as the best book of its kind we have."
― St. Paul Dispatch – Pioneer Press

"It's hard to imagine an engineer or a manager who doesn't need to express himself in English prose as part of his job. It's also hard to imagine a writer who will not be improved by a liberal application of The Elements of Style."
― Telephone Engineer & Management

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pearson; 4th edition (7 Sept. 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780205309023
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0205309023
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 17.78 x 11.43 x 0.76 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7,955 ratings

About the author

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William Strunk

William Strunk

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William Strunk Jr. (1 July 1869 – 26 September 1946), was a professor of English at Cornell University and author of the The Elements of Style (1918). After revision and enlargement by his former student E. B. White, it became a highly influential guide to English usage during the late 20th century, commonly called Strunk & White.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
7,955 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book useful and beneficial for writers. They say it's concise, to the point, and easy to read and follow. Readers describe the advice as sound, balanced, and timeless. They also appreciate the guide for good grammar, style, and layout.

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73 customers mention ‘Book value’73 positive0 negative

Customers find the book useful and helpful for anyone who's writing. They say it's great to be reminded of the basics and it helps every essay. Readers also say the book is surprisingly informative and has improved their writing.

"There is nothing to dislike in this book." Read more

"...But you will find it softly engaging and interesting and find yourself pulled into the mindset of those people who take grammar a good deal more..." Read more

"Incredibly useful little book for anyone wanting to improve his/hers English writing...." Read more

"...Page for page this has to be the best book on writing that I have read, so packed is it with useful ideas and information...." Read more

48 customers mention ‘Writing style’48 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style concise, to the point, and easy to read and follow. They say it has the essence of good writing between its covers and emphasises clarity. Readers also mention the book simplifies and explains rules and usage.

"...Particularly helpful is the fact that each recommendation comes with examples, so that you can see in practice what he is actually talking about,..." Read more

"...Concise and to the point, this book will help you make sense of your current knowledge and provide sound advice on just about anything that you may..." Read more

"...So easy to read and follow...." Read more

"This is a fantastic guide to the rules of grammar and isn't overly long so it's also easy to flick through to find what you need...." Read more

12 customers mention ‘Advice content’12 positive0 negative

Customers find the advice in the book sound, balanced, and full of wisdom. They describe the book as an essential timeless guide to vivid and powerful writing. Readers also mention the book is brilliant and a classic work for any writer's bookshelf.

"...book will help you make sense of your current knowledge and provide sound advice on just about anything that you may encounter in English..." Read more

"This is a precise book full of detailed advice. The first time I read it I was expecting general advice in different styles of writing...." Read more

"...It's a good investment in my opinion, it consists of a number of short advices on things that many of us get simply wrong...." Read more

"Packed with just the advice. No chitchat. Strong advice for many writing areas, still as relevant today as when it was first published." Read more

9 customers mention ‘Style’7 positive2 negative

Customers find the book's style to be good. They mention it's well-set out and emphasises clarity without sacrificing style.

"...Strunk and White is a handy quick reference guide for good grammar, style, and layout...." Read more

"...It emphasises clarity, though not at the expense of style, has an excellent guide to correct punctuation and should be on any writer's bookshelf." Read more

"Looks like new. Enjoying the Reading" Read more

"...with not so usable dust cover and now I am left with a rather dull looking book...." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Value for money’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth the price.

"This is a priceless little book that I have had for years...." Read more

"...Worth a buy if you feel your writing needs some improvement in clarity." Read more

"...It is concise and comprehensive. I Love it. It costs pennies and takes up zero shelf space but helps every essay." Read more

"Good value" Read more

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

Stuart Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars A Surprisingly Interesting Book...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2013
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I bought this to brush up on some essential grammer after having it recommended by Stephen King in his book "On Writing".

Naturally, it is a work of non-fiction (and about grammar no less!) So you won't find yourself on the edge of your seat or anything as you read it. But you will find it softly engaging and interesting and find yourself pulled into the mindset of those people who take grammar a good deal more seriously than most of us.

Particularly helpful is the fact that each recommendation comes with examples, so that you can see in practice what he is actually talking about, and that each part is not overly long, so you don't feel the need to reach for the metaphorical gun to put yourself out of your misery!

If you set aside the contents, introduction and appendix then this book is only 85 pages long, which I actually saw as a good thing. No doubt there are books on grammar that can quite happily be used as tables in their own right, but I wonder how many normal people actually read them?

It's a bit like Stephen Hawking's "Brief History of Time" in that owning a copy of such tomes doesn't automatically mean you have read them!

This one I have read. I honestly don't know if it improved my grammar much (oh ok I do...It didn't! I think you would need to make more than a casual study of this to really improve much). But the door is at least slightly ajar to seeing the light and perhaps, some day, also marveling at the difference between a conjunctive pronoun and a restrictive adverb (something which I have personally never heard of, but which I feel happy to allow some Grammar God to now lay claim too).

Overall, a book that is well worth your time.
8 people found this helpful
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Viktor
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly useful little book for anyone wanting to improve his/hers English ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 April 2015
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Incredibly useful little book for anyone wanting to improve his/hers English writing. Concise and to the point, this book will help you make sense of your current knowledge and provide sound advice on just about anything that you may encounter in English writing.
Although the book can be read in one or two sittings, try reading a chunk at a time and observe what you learned in actual writings from other sources or even the book itself.

Only thing I could complain about is that my hardcover copy came wrapped with not so usable dust cover and now I am left with a rather dull looking book. If you are looking for a nice looking hardback, you should probably stay away from this edition, but then again, you should also try reading the book instead of looking at its covers!
2 people found this helpful
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Bree
4.0 out of 5 stars English grammar made simple
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2021
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This book covers what my International school education taught me about English but what I did not get (but should have got) with my British education. I think it's (in Britain) assumed that this knowledge will be picked up through the "everyday" but it should be taught. This book concisely summarises all governance around the English language construct. So easy to read and follow.
Like the author and original founder advises, use less words, thefore its thw beat guide for learning and writing English.
3 people found this helpful
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John Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Concise and informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2010
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Negative reviewers of this book focus on the questions of which edition it is and whether there is a better edition out there which they should have ordered in stead. Some have also suggested that the book is full of mistakes. Perhaps we have been reading different books. Page for page this has to be the best book on writing that I have read, so packed is it with useful ideas and information. I had imagined that it would be so based on American English that it would be less useful and even jarring to the British reader, but I did not find this to be so. Although style is related to taste and will vary from one writer to another, and although rules may sometimes be broken to good effect, I'm sure that any writer could sharpen his or her style by studying this book and applying its rules and 'reminders'. I will certainly be dipping into it from time to time. The one problem that I do have right now is that, having read the book, I can spot several errors of style in this review and I feel rather guilty about not taking the trouble to correct them.
5 people found this helpful
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hfffoman
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for anyone interested in writing well
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2015
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This is a precise book full of detailed advice. The first time I read it I was expecting general advice in different styles of writing. It does not provide that but it is packed with excellent, balanced advice. I can remember when Fowler's was the standard reference but Fowler's is too dated and Strunk & White is probably now the authority on matters of style.

When you have read this book, you will understand that a great deal of good writing is not just about crafting words with skill, it is about getting a clear idea of the logical relation between the ideas in every sentence. Once you understand that, you will not only create better prose but you will do it with less effort.
7 people found this helpful
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Harvey
3.0 out of 5 stars Book itself is a must for anybody learning to write but...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic guide to the rules of grammar and isn't overly long so it's also easy to flick through to find what you need. Unfortunately a few pages in mine were blank so I'm going to have to buy a new copy. Unfortunately I didn't get around to reading it in time to return it.
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Rebekah B
5.0 out of 5 stars The (little) grammar bible
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 May 2018
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I wield this book furiously at anyone who dares to disagree with my prolific use of the Oxford comma or punctuation-light lists. This was a required textbook on my BA Creative Writing and I still have it sat next to me on my desk at work nearly ten years later. Strunk and White is a handy quick reference guide for good grammar, style, and layout. Despite being a relatively old book the rules in it are timeless, and the writing style of the book itself is uncluttered and easy to follow. Every rule in the book is supported by examples to ease your understanding, making them much easier to apply to your own writing style.
24 people found this helpful
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I’ve been using for more than a year and it’s a great product that whitens and softens my skin. My skin has even glowed and looked even better. I keep on buying it every month. Worth recommending. Love it for real.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on 25 August 2024
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It’s all in here what I need. You gotta get one.
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Alfredo Viana
5.0 out of 5 stars Boa ferramenta para comunicação de negócios
Reviewed in Brazil on 31 December 2021
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O livro tem me ajudado muito na comunicação com as diversas áreas da empresa e nos relatórios que elaboro para a matriz nos EUA. Tem boas dicas de comunicação que servem para qualquer idioma.
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Alfredo Viana
5.0 out of 5 stars Boa ferramenta para comunicação de negócios
Reviewed in Brazil on 31 December 2021
O livro tem me ajudado muito na comunicação com as diversas áreas da empresa e nos relatórios que elaboro para a matriz nos EUA. Tem boas dicas de comunicação que servem para qualquer idioma.
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6 people found this helpful
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Amazon Kunde
5.0 out of 5 stars Gut und kurz
Reviewed in Germany on 8 September 2024
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Sehr zu empfehlen. Kurz, knapp und wertvoll.
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Dr. C.H.E. Sadaphal
5.0 out of 5 stars (4.75) Get rescued out of writing trouble. And, learn how to write with vigor and clarity.
Reviewed in the United States on 17 May 2021
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This classic style manuscript is only a few dollars but is worth its weight in gold. Why is that? Because it teaches you how to use words to form proper sentences. The result is writing that communicates a clear, robust and precise message. Good writing never leaves the reader bewildered. Instead, good writing arouses and holds the reader’s attention; it calls up mental pictures whose size exceeds the writing itself. Accordingly, Elements of Style equips the writer with greater technical skill and is overflowing with best practices. It also benefits your reader, who will no longer flounder in the sea of ambiguity. After reading this book, I now realize how bankrupt modern writing is; this includes my own writing.

Elements has five parts: (I) Elementary Rules of Usage (II) Elementary Principles of Compositions (III) A Few Matters of Form (IV) Misused Words and Expressions (V) An Approach to Style. Parts I-IV deal with the science of writing. Part V deals with the art of writing. It is in parts I and II that you will find the famous “22 Rules.” These commandments provide timeless lessons such as (#16) “Use definite, specific, concrete language” and (#17) “Omit needless words.” Under each heading, the author gives a few examples of sentences that can be improved by application of the rule along with a one-page summary.

As a bonus, the author has a style of writing that is sharp and witty. This creates a read that is both informative and entertaining. Overall, this small book can be finished quickly, but you will likely return to mine nuggets of literary wisdom many times. For any writer, this book is the type that you buy and keep in a permanent spot in your library.
8 people found this helpful
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Christine K.
5.0 out of 5 stars Rend la grammaire moins barbante !!!
Reviewed in France on 3 March 2023
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La reliure pourrait être plus haut de gamme pour des consultations multiples sur une longue durée…
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