Book Review: The Elements of Style, Illustrated

Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White

Illustrated by Maria Kalman

The Penguin Press, 2005, $24.95

reviewed by Sarah E. White

I’m a word nerd from way back, so I’ve loved The Elements of Style since I was first introduced to it in junior high school. Its advice or writing clearly and well spoke to me, much as it spoke to E.B. White when he was a student in William Strunk’s class in 1919.

Although the book is old, it’s by no means outdated. The wisdom of these six little sections, which in the fourth edition run a mere 105 pages, is still valid, maybe even more so since the proliferation of e-mail speak into the vernacular.

I reread Elements annually and try each time to take its lessons to heart: omit needless words, use definite, specific, concrete language, use the active voice, place yourself in the background, write in a way that comes naturally, don’t overwrite, etc.

Strunk and White also tackle some of those grammatical gaffes that drive word nerds crazy, such as how to form possessives and plurals, how to deal with titles, and where to use commas, dashes, and colons — and it provides a thorough and useful list of commonly misused words and phrases.

The Elements of Style, Illustrated also includes a collection of simple but fun illustrations that exemplify examples from the text: “Polly loves cake more than she loves me,” “He noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug,” “Chloe smells good, as a baby should,” “overly, muchly, thusly,” and “Illusion. See allusion,” “know-ledge” are a few of the more notable ones.

If you already own a copy or two of Elements (this is my third!), it’s not necessary to run out and buy another. But if you don’t already own this fine book, get yourself a copy of the illustrated edition. The added art will make you smile, and the wonderful lessons about writing will make you wonder how you lived without this book on your shelf.

****

Sarah E. White is a freelance writer and editor living in Arkansas. She is the author of Doing the Write Thing: The Easy Way to Self-Edit. Her home on the web is http://www.sarahewhite.com.

Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.