The Elements of Style
by William Strunk, Jr., E. B. White · first published 1920
56% recommend29% neutral15% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short, readable guide to clear, concise writing (omit needless words) that can be finished in an afternoon; recommended to programmers, technical writers, and anyone who wants to write better.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
You know the authors' names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. And now The Elements of Style-the most widely read and employed English style manual-is available in a specially bound 50th Anniversary Edition that offers the title's vast audience an opportunity to own a more durable and elegantly bound edition of this time-tested classic. Offering the same content as the Fourth Edition, revised in 1999, the new casebound 50th Anniversary Edition includes a brief overview of the book's illustrious history. Used extensively by individual writers as well as high s
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Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis. Any of his nonfiction works have a style of writing that I seldom find. He has a dedication to reason and a step-by-step approach. The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E. B. White. I liked writing since I learned how to. I didn't find this book until I was 17, and it unlocked me to write in a way that better helped others. The Language Instinct,…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗"The Elements of Style", by Strunk & White. 92 pages. For example, page 19: "Put statements in positive form." Code is improved if booleans are put in positive form, such as replace: if (!featureIsDisabled()) ... with:…
on “Ask HN: Best books under 200 pages for developers?” ↗…subjects are bigger than a ~100 page book can cover, but despite having spent a lot of my life writing (and having published a book), I've never been able to plod through a big grammar book. I can read Elements of Style in an afternoon without feeling like it's a chore. As noted in some of the reviews, if it's wrong it's not worth even that much effort. But, I never thought it was predominantly wrong or predominantly…
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗I learned more about technical writing from The Elements of Style and a one-semester university course that I ever did from 13 years of public schooling. I learned more about creative writing from being an immortal on a MUD and contributing to the underground newspaper…
on “Teacher spends two days as a student (2014)” ↗I have kept around and distributed multiple copies of The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, for the past few years (lots of revisions of this out there, 4th might be most recent iirc). It's like a 9$ book and the guidance is priceless. https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/...
on “Undervalued Engineering Skills: Writing Well” ↗I've taken the class within Amazon. Honestly there isn't anything that you couldn't get by simply reading and applying the advice from "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White[1] and "On Writing Well" by Zinsser [2]. The primary philosophy is that if you can't write well, then you haven't thought it through. The act of writing is an act of reasoning. 0.…
on “Undervalued Engineering Skills: Writing Well” ↗The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. (4th edition) helped a lot. (Note: English is my second language.)
on “Ask HN: How to learn to clearly express your thoughts” ↗Just read Strunk and White's Elements of Style.
on “How to say nothing in 500 words” ↗For anyone who writes (and these days who doesn't?) I highly recommend the classic "Elements of Style" by William Strunk. If you only read one book about writing this should be it. http://www.bartleby.com/141/ Btw, I think it's more efficent to first write a "braindump" and then start editing, rather…
on “Watch Me Make Mistakes” ↗Get a copy of The Elements of Style. It's like K&R for writing. Then practice. Join a local writing group. Write essays. Keep a journal. Write letters to the editor or guest columns for the local paper. Blog. Etc. Like anything…
on “Ask HN: How do you write great sentences, paragraphs, or articles?” ↗Check "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. It is a classic book on writing style. It's short, inexpensive and very instructive. Disclaimer: English is not my native language.
on “NodeJS 5 KEY Things I Wish I Knew Earlier.” ↗The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. I've given it to just about everyone I've known who seriously wanted to be a writer, journalist, etc. as well as some folks who just wanted to write better. It's a small, beautiful,…
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗"Getting To Yes" https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Wit... I've given away more copies of that book than any other. Improves all relationships. "Elements of Style" aka Strunk and White. https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/... I'd prefer they not only read Elements of Style, but work on it.
on “Ask HN: What are the books you wish your colleagues had read?” ↗…On Writing Well - William Zinser https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-Nonfict... 2) On Writing - Stephen King- https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft... 3) The Elements of Style - Strunk & White - https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/... The two most important points are concise style and active voice. Both of these habits are critical for SEs to write…
on “Ask HN: What are good writing tips for software developers?” ↗…"due to a series of historical accidents the teaching of writing has gotten mixed together with the study of literature" --- http://www.paulgraham.com/essay.html Toward the end of high school I found The Elements of Style by accident and it changed my life. Yes, it changed my life! I was always more interested in art than science. So I didn't become a programmer until I was almost 30. What struck me was how similar it…
on “How to Write Usefully” ↗