The Elements of Style - Book Summary, Notes, and Highlights

🚀 First Impressions

After reading Paul Graham's blog post titled Writing, Briefly, I wanted to find a book that would help me improve my writing.

The first one I tried was On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. Since the opening chapters didn't include any practical advice on writing, I quickly lost interest. But, while reading it, I came across a reference to The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, which was exactly what I was looking for.

The Elements of Style explains the most important rules of English grammar and style. It focuses on the most important aspects of the language and doesn't overburden the reader with the nuances of English grammar.

🔝 Top Takeaways

• Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause.
• Nonrestrictive relative clauses are parenthetic and should be enclosed in commas.
• Plan the skeleton of the piece you want to write before you start writing.
• Replace which with that if the clause that is introduced by it is restrictive - the author calls this which hunting.
• Omit needless words and be concise.

📚 Summary

The Elements of Style has an interesting authorship history. William Strunk Jr. was an English professor at Cornell University, who wrote the first version of The Elements of Style for his students. After his passing, E.B. White, who had been a student of Strunk, was commissioned to revise the book for publication to a wider audience.

This summary focuses on the chapters Elementary Rules of Usage and Elementary Principles of Composition because they have the most valuable advice on how to improve your writing.

📏 Elementary Rules of Usage

In the chapter Elementary Rules of Usage, Strunk Jr. covers the most essential rules of English grammar at a sentence level.

I found the advice on how to properly use commas to be the most helpful. Below you'll find the most important rules.

Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas

It's often hard to decide if an expression is parenthetic or not. If the interruption is significant, the commas should be added. A parenthetic expression must always be enclosed in a pair of commas.

• Peter's wife, Marie, paid us a visit today.
• Your brother, you may be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health.

Nonrestrictive relative clauses¹ are parenthetic and should be enclosed in commas.

• My car, which I bought last year, is already having engine trouble.
• The old café, where they serve the best hot chocolate, is now closed.

In the examples above, the clauses introduced by which, when, and where are nonrestrictive; they do not limit or define, they just add something.

By contrast, restrictive relative clauses are not parenthetic and not enclosed in commas.

• Students who study regularly tend to perform better.
• The book that she recommended was out of stock.

The clauses introduced by who and that are restrictive; they limit or define the noun they refer to.

Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause

Below are two examples where a conjunction introduces an independent clause².

• The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.
• I'm going to the store, because I need to buy some groceries.

The conjunctions but and because introduce an independent clauses, so a comma is needed before them.

Don't put an extra comma after the conjunction if a dependent clause (or an introductory phrase) comes right after the conjunction in a compound sentence.

• The situation is perilous, but if we are prepared to act promptly, there is still one chance of escape.

There's no comma after but because the dependent clause 'if we are prepared to act promptly' already creates a natural pause with its comma.

Do not join independent clauses with a comma

When joining two or more complete clauses into a compound sentence³ without using a conjunction, use a semicolon between the clauses.

• The rain stopped; the sun emerged from behind the clouds.
• Mary studied all night; she felt prepared.

In the examples above, it is also correct to use periods instead of semicolons.

• The rain stopped. The sun emerged from behind the clouds.
• Mary studied all night. She felt prepared.

If a conjunction is used, then use a comma.

• The rain stopped, and the sun emerged from behind the clouds.
• Mary studied all night, so she felt prepared.

Do not break sentences in two

In other words, don't use periods in place of commas.

• ✘ The book was disappointing. Despite all the positive reviews.
• ✔ The book was disappointing, despite all the positive reviews.

The key is recognizing when the second part, i.e., 'despite all the positive reviews.' is grammatically dependent on the first part and cannot function as a standalone sentence.

📝 Elementary Principles of Composition

Contrary to the previous chapter, the chapter Elementary Principles of Composition is more focused on the big picture rather than detailed rules of English grammar. It covers the key principles you should follow when stringing multiple sentences together to form a piece of writing.

Plan before writing

The better you plan the structure of your writing, the simpler it becomes to fill in the content.

Use paragraphs

A paragraph organizes ideas clearly; while it can vary in length, each topic is usually best handled in its own paragraph to aid the reader. You should avoid writing single sentences as paragraphs.

Use the active voice

The active voice is more direct and vigorous than the passive, which makes your writing more concise.

• ✘ My first visit to Boston will always be remembered.
• ✔ I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.

Put statements in positive form

Make definite assertions by using the positive form.

• ✘ He was not very often on time.
• ✔ He usually came late.

Use definite, specific, concrete language

Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, and the concrete to the abstract.

• ✘ A period of unfavorable weather set in.
• ✔ It rained every day for a week.

Here's another example:

• ✘ He showed satisfaction as he took possession of his well-earned reward.
• ✔ He grinned as he pocketed the coin.

Omit needless words

Many common expressions violate this principle, such as:

• the question as to whether → whether
• there is no doubt but that → no doubt
• used for fuel purposes → used for fuel
• he is a man who → he

The fact that is an especially debilitating expression, here are some alternatives:

• owing to the fact that → since / because
• in spite of the fact that → though although
• call your attention to the fact → remind you / notify you
• the fact that he had not succeeded → his failure
• the fact that I had arrived → my arrival

❌ Words Commonly Misused

The book also covers some words and phrases that are commonly misused. Below, you'll find the most important ones.

Effect

As a noun it means result; as a verb it means to cause. It should not be confused with affect, which means to influence.

In terms of

Usually used as padding and is best omitted.

• ✘ The job was unattractive in terms of salary.
• ✔ The salary made the job unattractive.

One of the most

Don't use one of the most; it's stilistically feeble and should be avoided.

• ✘ Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe.
• ✔ Switzerland’s alpine landscapes make it a standout among Europe’s most scenic countries.

Personally

The use of personally is often unnecessary.

• ✘ Personally, I thought it was a good book.
• ✔ I thought it was a good book.

That vs. Which

That is the defining, or restrictive, pronoun, which die nondefming, or nonrestrictive.

• The lawn mower that is broken is in the garage. (Tells which one.)
• The lawn mower, which is broken, is in the garage. (Adds a fact about the only mower in question.)

💡 Final Thoughts

This book was tough to work through, especially because I dislike thinking about grammar. But if there's one book that I would recommend to improve your writing, it's this one.

Hey, I'm Max.

I'm an Athlete turned Finance Ph.D., Engineer, and Corporate Consultant.