‘The Elements of Style’ (1918), by William Strunk, Jr., is an American English writing style guide. It is the best-known, most influential prescriptive treatment of English grammar and usage, and often is required reading and usage in U.S. high school and university composition classes.
This fourth edition (originally published in 1999 in hardback) of ‘The Elements of Style’ details eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, “a few matters of form”, and a list of commonly misused words and expressions.
One of those ‘essential reading’ books for writers. It lays out many of the rookie mistakes you should avoid if you want to be taken seriously. We all make them – I still do. Erudite and necessary reading and to have for reference right next to you. I came across this when reading On Writing, and have seen it referred to many times in many online forums. It is dry but makes perfect sense if you want to write good fiction and not just words on a page.
