Thinker's Almanac - July 1

 

Subject: Thinking and Writing - The Elements of Style

Event:  Birthday of William Strunk Jr., 1869

Fortunately, the act of composition, or creation, disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind but supply it, too.  -William Strunk, Jr.

Today is the birthday of William Strunk, Jr. (1869-1946), the author of one of the most influential writing guides ever written, The Elements of Style.  Strunk originally created his guide in 1918 as an unpublished pamphlet for his students at Cornell University.  After Strunk died in 1946, his former student, the author E.B. White (Best known for his book Charlotte’s Web), revised and expanded Strunk’s work.  When it was published in 1959, The Elements of Style became a bestseller and to date has sold over 10 million copies.

Today, the guide -- commonly referred to as “Strunk and White” -- has become probably the most universally respected reference work for writers.  It’s also designed for readers, however.  In his introduction, White expresses his teacher’s sympathy for the reader:

Will felt that the reader was in serious trouble most of the time, floundering in a swamp, and that it was the duty of anyone attempting to write English to drain this swamp quickly and get the reader up on dry ground, or at least to throw a rope.

In addition to a rope, Strunk and White provide concise principles of composition:  eleven commandments for crafting sentences, paragraphs, and compositions:

1. Choose a suitable design and stick to it.

2. Make the paragraph the unit of composition.

3. Use the active voice.

4. Put statements in positive form.

5. Use definite, specific, concrete language.

6. Omit needless words.

7. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.

8. Express coordinate ideas in similar form.

9. Keep related words together.

10. In summaries, keep to one tense.

11. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.

To illustrate the sixth commandment, “Omit needless words,” notice how Strunk and White practice what they preach:

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 not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. 

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Writing is never easy, but it is an essential practice for developing and examining your thinking.  As Strunk says, writing paradoxically both drains the mind and supplies it.  It’s always a challenging process, but reading an excellent style guide like The Elements of Style will make things a bit easier.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What analogies are used by Strunk and White to explain the writer’s responsibility to the reader and the reasoning behind being concise when writing?

Challenge - Primary Principle for Powerful Prose

What would you argue is the single most important rule for effective writing?  Look at the rules laid out by Strunk and White, and also research other principles your favorite writers swear by for communicating clearly to a reader.  Select your single most important rule; then, make the case for your rule by explaining it in detail along with showing examples where appropriate.

Sources:

1-Strunk, William.  The Elements of Style. Project Gutenberg, 2011.