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The Elements of Style QUOTES

The Elements of Style QUOTES

1 " The mind travels faster than the pen; consequently, writing becomes a question of learning to make occasional wing shots, bringing down the bird of thought as it flashes by. A writer is a gunner, sometimes waiting in the blind for something to come in, sometimes roaming the countryside hoping to scare something up. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

2 " Another segment of society that has constructed a language of its own is business. People in business say that toner cartridges are in short supply, that they have updated the next shipment of these cartridges, and that they will finalize their recommendations at the next meeting of the board. They are speaking a language familiar and dear to them. Its portentous nouns and verbs invest ordinary events with high adventure; executives walk among toner cartridges, caparisoned like knights. We should tolerate them--every person of spirit wants to ride a white horse. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

3 " Writers will often find themselves steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

4 " If you have received a letter inviting you to speak at the dedication of a new cat hospital, and you hate cats, your reply, declining the invitation, does not necessarily have to cover the full range of your emotions. You must make it clear that you will not attend, but you do not have to let fly at the cats. The writer of the letter asked a civil question; attack cats, then, only if you can do so with good humor, good taste, and in such a way that your answer will be courteous as well as responsive. Since you are out of sympathy with cats, you may quite properly give this as a reason for not appearing at the dedicatory ceremonies of a cat hospital. But bear in mind that your opinion of cats was not sought, only your services as a speaker. Try to keep things straight. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

5 " To air one's views gratuitously, however, is to imply that the demand for them is brisk, which may not be the case, and which, in any event, may not be relevant to the discussion. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

6 " language "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

7 " In his New Yorker column of July 27, 1957, E. B. White praised the “little book” as a “forty-three-page summation of the case for cleanliness, accuracy, and brevity in the use of English. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

8 " If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!" (William Strunk) ... Why compound ignorance with inaudibility? "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

9 " Flammable. An oddity, chiefly useful in saving lives. The common word meaning "combustible" is inflammable. But some people are thrown off by the in- and think inflammable means "not combustible." For this reason, trucks carrying gasoline or explosives are now marked FLAMMABLE. Unless you are operating such a truck and hence are concerned with the safety of children and illiterates, use inflammable. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

10 " 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 his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

11 " When a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

12 " Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

13 " Consciously or unconsciously, the reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not; the reader wishes to be told what is... If your every sentence admits a doubt, your writing will lack authority. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

14 " It is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric. When they do so, however, the reader will usually find in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at the cost of the violation. Unless he is certain of doing as well, he will probably do best to follow the rules. After he has learned, by their guidance, to write plain English adequate for everyday uses, let him look, for the secrets of style, to the study of the masters of literature. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

15 " 1. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

16 " 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. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

17 " The writer who has a definite meaning to express will not take refuge in such vagueness. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

18 " A careful and honest writer does not need to worry about style. As you become proficient in the use of language, your style will emerge, because you yourself will emerge, and when this happens you will find it increasingly easy to breakthrough the barriers that separate you from other minds, other hearts - which is, of course, the purpose of writing, as well as its principal reward. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

19 " The language is perpetually in flux: it is a living stream, shifting, changing, receiving new strength from a thousand tributaries, losing old forms in the backwaters of time. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style

20 " Prestigious. Often an adjective of last resort. It's in the dictionary, but that doesn't mean you have to us it. "

― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style