<p>Whatever you may suspect or wish to think, bland and boring five-paragraph essays are the last thing Strunk & White are promoting. This
comes from fourth-grade writing class. And the Princeton Review course for the SAT (actually your quote is almost verbatim from that handbook, whether you realize it or not). And plenty of unimaginative English classes. It doesn’t come from The Elements of Style.</p>
<p>The world is full of dry, didactic grammar guides. It’s more likely that the MLA style sheet is what ETS uses. Or the Chicago Manual of Style. Or one of dozens of other straightforward, rules-only guides.</p>
<p>Not liking the book is obviously your prerogative. But blaming it for mindless enforcement of grammar rules, or unimaginative teaching, or the bland horrors of the SAT writing portion (and I completely agree with you that the SAT writing section has nothing to do with truly good writing) is a fairly big stretch. </p>
<p>I love EB White and would stand up and cheer for anything he wrote or edited.</p>
<p>I doubt anyone will stage a celebration for anything G. Pullum (probably spelled his name wrong – not a household name!) wrote. Perhaps that is the source of the problem: writer’s envy, a frequently suffered though often undiagnosed malady.</p>
<p>As with most things, the author of this very pompous article could be answered with a simple, “If you don’t like it, don’t use it.”</p>
<p>As a teacher of first year college writers, I can say that for my students S & W would not be helpful. They would not be able to decode the advice. However, I doubt they were the intended audience of the guide. </p>
<p>As HMW so eloquently demonstrates, there are many extremely accomplished writers, editors and teachers who benefit greatly from this little manual.</p>
<p>However, I will whisper: I could never read S & W. My eyes glaze over. I run for shelter. I am one of those sad beings who can only learn by doing. Grammar causes my head to buzz, my complexion to pale and my knees to wobble. I have to make mistakes and learn to correct them by experiencing the awfulness of my first stabs first hand. That’s just the kind of animal I am.</p>
<p>But not all are. Why should I prescribe? For an advocate of descriptive linguistics, the author of the article is certainly very prescriptive.</p>
<p>For those who treasure S & W: celebrate the fabulous 50th anniversary of the publication of your well-beloved manual. I will celebrate anyone who treasures good writing, so I celebrate too.</p>
<p>If G. Pullum wants to be a party pooper, I say, “Let him sit in his corner himself.”</p>
<p>Joining the conversation late here - but I’d be happy if our schools even taught grammar. Back in the day, before there was color, every Monday morning was Grammar day in English class for the first two years of high school. </p>
<p>Elements of Style was the basic text, supplemented by the worst mistakes in our own writing that our teachers could find. We would get a sheet of sentence corrections that had the offending sentence with the author’s name in parenthesis after the sentence. </p>
<p>At first we all tried to stay off of that sheet - but as we became wise fools, my friends and I would deliberately find obscure grammar rules in E of S to insert into our papers in hopes of making the ‘errors of the week’. Of course, the end result was that we all became better writers, which was the goal in the first place.</p>
<p>These days, as my kids go through the same school system that I went through, there is no structured grammar instruction. Teachers correct papers, highlighting errors, but no formal program exists to ensure that everyone learns the fundamentals. While E of S might have its limitations, I still wish that it (or its counterpart) were a part of the educational process.</p>
<p>Though I’m compelled to point out that I will continue to down with my shield or on it on the position that Strunk & White is chiefly a writing guide, not a grammar textbook, I will gladly second you on that, scualum.</p>
<p>Like most CC kids, my older two are avid readers who absorbed what was right from the books they devoured, but they only formally learned English grammar in a backwards way, as they tried to learn grammar in foreign languages. It’s a real handicap. And grammar doesn’t have to be taught in an awful or boring way. </p>
<p>Mythmom, really? Glad you’re cheering the book, but you’re missing out! </p>
<p>Under the reminder, “Keep related words together”:</p>
<p>I am stricken! I never imagined there were those out there who looked upon S&W with such disdain. My well-worn copy, from my college English major days, holds a prominent place on my book shelf.</p>
<p>The nitpickery may be deserved as to the specifics of the book, but does anyone have a better source to cite for the frequently (and lamentably) ignored basic advice to avoid the passive voice, write in paragraphs, state matters positively, use definite and specific language, and omit needless words? I don’t see any immediate basis for concluding that those principles are either wrong or that they are being followed so faithfully that reminders on point are no longer needed.</p>
<p>My beloved S&W stands proudly on my family room bookshelf, along with 28 other writing guides. Yep, I counted 'em. We are a family of word nerds. I also suggest “On Writing Well” by William Zinser.</p>
<p>I salute you, HMW. You can’t break or bend the rules effectively if you don’t know them in the first place.</p>
<p>In that case, you would like the best serious book on English grammar, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, by Rodney Huddleston and the distinguished grammarian and linguist Geoffrey Pullum.</p>
<p>When Pullum criticizes the grammar advice in The Elements of Style, he knows whereof he speaks.</p>
<p>The Cambridge Grammar is a reference work, over 1800 pp. long. It’s a linguistic study, and a very valuable one, but not anybody’s idea of a grammar guide. Pullum’s A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar is the one he (Pullum) is hoping you’ll buy.</p>
<p>It’s a textbook. </p>
<p>(Did I mention that Strunk & White isn’t a grammar textbook, or a textbook at all? Hmm - maybe I did.)</p>
<p>I like On Writing Well, too. And several other books about writing. My shelf may not be as long as Peabodie’s, though.</p>
<p>tokenadult, the book you’re asking about is a straightforward grammar review and workbook. The Dover reprint aspect doesn’t tell you much except that Dover knows they can move enough copies to make keeping it in print worthwhile. I think it’s used in adult English Language Learner courses a lot.</p>
<p>Interesting posts! I think The Elements of Style is a valuable guide for someone who wants to learn about writing. Another book that I like is Bernstein’s The Careful Writer.</p>
or on it on the position that Strunk & White is chiefly a writing guide, not a grammar textbook, I will gladly second you on that, scualum.</p>