- Subjects
- Published
-
New York :
Penguin Press
2005.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Other Authors
- ,
- Edition
- [Illustrated ed.]
- Item Description
- Cover title: Elements of style illustrated.
Based on The elements of style, 4th ed. Boston : Allyn and Bacon, c2000. - Physical Description
- xvii, 147 p. : col. ill. ; 23 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes index.
- ISBN
- 9781594200694
- Foreword
- Introduction
- I. Elementary Rules of Usage
- 1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding's
- 2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last
- 3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
- 4. Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause
- 5. Do not join independent clauses with a comma
- 6. Do not break sentences in two
- 7. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list of particulars, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quotation
- 8. Use a dash to set off an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary
- 9. The number of the subject determines the number the verb
- 10. Use the proper case of pronoun
- 11. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject
- II. Elementary Principles of Composition
- 12. Choose a suitable design and hold to it
- 13. Make the paragraph the unit of composition
- 14. Use the active voice
- 15. Put statements in positive form
- 16. Use definite, specific, concrete language
- 17. Omit needless words
- 18. Avoid a succession of loose sentences
- 19. Express coordinate ideas in similar form
- 20. Keep related words together
- 21. In summaries, keep to one tense
- 22. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end
- III. A Few Matters of Form
- IV. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused
- V. An Approach to Style (with a List of Reminders)
- 1. Place yourself in the background
- 2. Write in a way that comes naturally
- 3. Work from a suitable design
- 4. Write with nouns and verbs
- 5. Revise and rewrite
- 6. Do not overwrite
- 7. Do not overstate
- 8. Avoid the use of qualifiers
- 9. Do not affect a breezy manner
- 10. Use orthodox spelling
- 11. Do not explain too much
- 12. Do not construct awkward adverbs
- 13. Make sure the reader knows who is speaking
- 14. Avoid fancy words
- 15. Do not use dialect unless your ear is good
- 16. Be clear
- 17. Do not inject opinion
- 18. Use figures of speech sparingly
- 19. Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity
- 20. Avoid foreign languages
- 21. Prefer the standard to the offbeat
- VI. Spelling (from the first edition)
- Glossary
- Index
- Backword
- Copyright Page
Review by Horn Book Review