Strunk & White's Utility
William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White's little style manual, entitled The Elements of Style, is a classic book for aspiring writers, teachers, and anyone else who seeks improvement of their writing skills. The Elements of Style is highly amusing, a relatively easy read, and contains a lot of useful material.
One helpful element I found is their "Principle of Composition Number 13," (page 15 in chapter 2): "Make the paragraph the unit of composition." I was encouraged by their statement that a paragraph may be "of any length, a single, short sentence or a passage of great duration" (16). Some of the statement's usefulness is because it reads like an affirmation, and some of us are a little shy on support in our lives. As we have discussed in class, English teachers' edicts from the past haunt many of us; I can hear one say "A paragraph should be at least three sentences in length." Most paragraphs should be longer than one sentence, but, depending on the format and the skill of the writer, shorter or longer may be acceptable or preferable.
Generally, according to Strunk & White (16), single sentences should not be written as paragraphs, except if they are a transitional sentence.
Strunk & White says that most subjects require division into paragraphs. As I think over my own writing and the limited comments I have received from instructors and peers, my transitions within a work may need revision. The value of S & W to me in this regard is primarily to focus my attention on developing more cohesive paragraphs, both via topic sentences and transitions. I tend to write rapidly--"crank it out", generally--because of time constraints and motivation for any particular assignment. My writing is often not as smooth, logical, and polished as may be desirable.
Another section in S & W I found helpful is the section which reads "Place yourself in the background (70)." which occurs in the chapter entitled "An Approach to Style." S & W say that one should "write in a way that draws the reader's attention to the sense and substance of the writing, rather than to the mood and temper of the author (70)". I liked what the authors say about starting slowly and simply, and the writer's style gradually emerging. I find S & W's comments about how the mind and heart of the reader are revealed over time, and with skill, and that's what writing is about. The last part of this section contains another valuable insight: "Fortunately, the act of composition, or creation, disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind but supply it, too (70)".
I have discovered that my own passionate writing can be cathartic as well as stimulating, which is similar to what S & W say. I confess to having gotten into trouble because of my writing, and have adopted this criteria when considering whether to release (or unleash) my writing to its intended audience:
After drafting, let the piece rest at least overnight. Go over it again, revise if necessary, and consider whether anyone will be better off if it is sent. It is also important to remember that anything written may find its way out to the whole world.
Writing helps me to organize my thinking.
The most dated, and consequently least helpful part of S & W, concerns their advice about the use of the masculine pronoun he to denote both genders. The authors maintain that "He has lost all suggestion of maleness in these circumstances (60)." Usage may be awkward, as S & W say, if both genders are used in a sentence. And, I agree, there is, to this day, no smooth handy pronoun which includes both sexes. As the women's movement evolved in the 60's and 70's, the masculine pronoun "he" to refer to males and females became a huge social issue. However awkward, words exist today which either sidestep the necessity of using a gender-specific pronoun, use one or the other, or use both pronouns. I recall feminist notions about using "he" and various attempts at sorting it out so everyone is happy. Use of the word "person" was in vogue; I recall the suggested invented word "tem" to mean "him or her". Non-gender-specific words have evolved and found their place in everyday language: "letter carrier" rather than "mailman", "chair" instead of "chairman".
My own name is masculine and means "son of Jens", although I am female. When I was married, I kept my given name, rather than adopt my husband's name--I figured my name was already masculine enough, I wasn't turning into a different person, and his name was a liability. So much for patriarchy.
One helpful element I found is their "Principle of Composition Number 13," (page 15 in chapter 2): "Make the paragraph the unit of composition." I was encouraged by their statement that a paragraph may be "of any length, a single, short sentence or a passage of great duration" (16). Some of the statement's usefulness is because it reads like an affirmation, and some of us are a little shy on support in our lives. As we have discussed in class, English teachers' edicts from the past haunt many of us; I can hear one say "A paragraph should be at least three sentences in length." Most paragraphs should be longer than one sentence, but, depending on the format and the skill of the writer, shorter or longer may be acceptable or preferable.
Generally, according to Strunk & White (16), single sentences should not be written as paragraphs, except if they are a transitional sentence.
Strunk & White says that most subjects require division into paragraphs. As I think over my own writing and the limited comments I have received from instructors and peers, my transitions within a work may need revision. The value of S & W to me in this regard is primarily to focus my attention on developing more cohesive paragraphs, both via topic sentences and transitions. I tend to write rapidly--"crank it out", generally--because of time constraints and motivation for any particular assignment. My writing is often not as smooth, logical, and polished as may be desirable.
Another section in S & W I found helpful is the section which reads "Place yourself in the background (70)." which occurs in the chapter entitled "An Approach to Style." S & W say that one should "write in a way that draws the reader's attention to the sense and substance of the writing, rather than to the mood and temper of the author (70)". I liked what the authors say about starting slowly and simply, and the writer's style gradually emerging. I find S & W's comments about how the mind and heart of the reader are revealed over time, and with skill, and that's what writing is about. The last part of this section contains another valuable insight: "Fortunately, the act of composition, or creation, disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind but supply it, too (70)".
I have discovered that my own passionate writing can be cathartic as well as stimulating, which is similar to what S & W say. I confess to having gotten into trouble because of my writing, and have adopted this criteria when considering whether to release (or unleash) my writing to its intended audience:
After drafting, let the piece rest at least overnight. Go over it again, revise if necessary, and consider whether anyone will be better off if it is sent. It is also important to remember that anything written may find its way out to the whole world.
Writing helps me to organize my thinking.
The most dated, and consequently least helpful part of S & W, concerns their advice about the use of the masculine pronoun he to denote both genders. The authors maintain that "He has lost all suggestion of maleness in these circumstances (60)." Usage may be awkward, as S & W say, if both genders are used in a sentence. And, I agree, there is, to this day, no smooth handy pronoun which includes both sexes. As the women's movement evolved in the 60's and 70's, the masculine pronoun "he" to refer to males and females became a huge social issue. However awkward, words exist today which either sidestep the necessity of using a gender-specific pronoun, use one or the other, or use both pronouns. I recall feminist notions about using "he" and various attempts at sorting it out so everyone is happy. Use of the word "person" was in vogue; I recall the suggested invented word "tem" to mean "him or her". Non-gender-specific words have evolved and found their place in everyday language: "letter carrier" rather than "mailman", "chair" instead of "chairman".
My own name is masculine and means "son of Jens", although I am female. When I was married, I kept my given name, rather than adopt my husband's name--I figured my name was already masculine enough, I wasn't turning into a different person, and his name was a liability. So much for patriarchy.
posted by Kiki at 1:24 PM
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