Artful Sentences
by Virginia Tufte · first published 2006
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Organizes English sentence structures in an orderly, example-driven way, showing how syntax shapes style; a practical guide for writers who want better sentences and an alternative to prescriptive style manuals.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"... Neither a composition handbook nor a history of rhetoric nor an exposition of other critics' syntactic theories, Tufte's book lays out the author's own very special understanding of how sentences work and what they can do. Tufte's knowledge of literature is so far-reaching that her examples are always apposite and surprising. And her recognition that syntax is itself symbolic makes this a pivotal book for all who write. ..." -- Marjorie Perloff (From the back cover.)
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…seem to be fighting back against the austerity view of writing. They include, if you're interested: - Brooks Landon, Building Great Sentences - Stanley Fish, How to Write a Sentence - Virginia Tufte, Artful Sentences, Syntax as Style - Richard Lanham, Analyzing Prose I'd just add, there is nothing wrong with being simple and clear. There is nothing wrong with cutting out needless or weak adverbs. But there is something…
on “Hemingway makes your writing bold and clear” ↗In the craftsman's toolbox I would add Virginia Tufte's lovely and inspiring book "Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style". To write better, one must write better sentences. Start here.
on “Five Paragraph Essays” ↗…interests you I recommend this book on crafting sentences written by the mother of the famous "Edward Tufte" (one of the most influential designers in the history of software): https://www.amazon.com/Artful-Sentences-Syntax-as-Style/dp/0... I've read a number of writing books and I find the key to good writing comes down to writing good sentences. It's also a critical part of being succint, only second to trimming…
on “Baffling ABC maths proof now has impenetrable 300-page ‘summary’” ↗…Strunk and White, or they pasted the text into Grammarly and got some squiggly lines. There are some style books that offer advice that is both useful and true. - Sense of Style, by Steven Pinker - Artful Sentences: Syntax As Style, by Virginia Tufte - Clear and Simple as the Truth: Writing Classic Prose, by Francis-Noel Thomas and Mark Turner If people really want to know what's what where grammar is concerned,…
on “Some Writing Advice: Don’t Take Others’ Advice” ↗I will second the Style recommendation. It explains how to write elegant sentences, whereas Strunk and White is just a list of the writers' prejudices. I'd also recommend Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte (who was Edward Tuft's mother).
on “George Orwell's 6 rules for writing (2018; originally published in 1946)” ↗It’s good—better than the much-revered Elements of Style, imho, which is overly prescriptive and frankly unhelpful at turns, even if it’s well written. But my all-time favorite is Virginia Tufte’s Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. It illustrates the variety of English sentence structures in an ordered way with a plethora of examples. The approach is not prescriptive; rather, it allows you inductively to develop…
on “How to Write with an LLM” ↗…all-time favorite writing companion: Virginia Tufte's "Grammar As Style". It's been out of print forever, which is tragic, and, when you can find it, it usually sells for over $100 - even in rough shape. "Artful Sentences" is meant to replace "Grammar As Style", but I prefer the original. If you want to tie all the rules together so you can understand why we even have grammar in the first place and how truly magical grammar…
on “Ask HN: How do you write great sentences, paragraphs, or articles?” ↗