The Elements of Style
Created by William J. Strunk Jr., an eccentric professor of English at Cornell University, to help his students with their composition courses, The Elements of Style is a concise guide to clear writing. It is a small book, pithily written to keep the writer from common pitfalls in usage, spelling, style. and punctuation.
Professor Strunk originally self-published the book for the use of his students. It did not gain popularity until a former student of Strunk’s, E. B. White, a humorist who wrote for the New Yorker and author of the children’s books Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web, published an article fondly recalling the “little book” from his student days at Cornell.
White, an apt stylist himself, revised the book for modern usage at the urging of his New Yorker editors.
The result is often referred to simply as Strunk and White and has become a staple in high schools and universities throughout the US. The book has been maligned by some grammarians, who have little else to do, but the book has endured for good reason.
It is simple, accessible, and useful.
