Maeghan Fitzgibbon

25 September 2015
Project 1: Book Review
WRA 370
The Elements of Style

The grammar book I choose for my book review is The Elements

of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White. While I was searching for a
book to report on for this project, I came across a vast amount of
different pieces of literature, but The Elements of Style grabbed my
attention the most. As elementary as this may sound, one reason I
choose this book was because of the illustrations that accompanied
each grammar point rule on every page. Another great attribute of this
book is its formatting and the overall organization of each grammar
rule. Every page marks a new rule or two that is briefly explained. Not
only is there a small explanation for each of these rules, but there are
also examples that assist readers in understanding the context of the
concept and how these grammar rules are applied. Luckily for the
readers, this text gives them the ability to find and learn grammar
rules easily.
Unlike most resources that aid in our learning of grammar, The
Elements of Style provides additional learning tools, such as
illustrations that give visual examples of concepts, which effectively

holds the readers attention. One example says, Use a dash to set off
an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or
summary.1 On the adjacent page, there is a picture of a boy standing
next to his bed still wearing his pajamas. As many of us know, there is
always the contemplation between staying in bed for another minute
or two and getting up and successfully starting your day. Beneath the
photo, there is a caption exemplifying the grammar rule of using a
dash. His first thought on getting out of bed, the caption reads, if
he had any thought at allwas to get back in it again.2 Not only does
this sentence show a relation to the photo, but it also shows a relation
to the grammatical rule that Strunk and White are trying to teach their
readers.
The format in which these authors have attempted to teach their
readers grammar rules has gone much farther than laying down every
inch of grammar they could fit into a book, and instead organizes rules
into lists, accompanied by examples. While reading this book, I thought
it was very helpful to my comprehension and learning that each rule
was broken down with examples and had captions on all of the
illustrations. Although the Chicago Manuael of Style is a notable and
fantastic resource for anything grammar- related, I feel that it is often
intimidating forto anyone attempting to learn and master grammar

1 William Strunk, E.B. White, The Elements of Style, (A Penguin Book

Reference, 2007) pg.age 16., rule 8
2 Strunk, White, The Elements of Style , pg.age 17.
2

rules when they open a rather large book to find clusters of paragraphs
and words. One of my biggest issues with text is having the patience to
find what I am looking for and utilizing what is in the text. In The
Elements of Style, it is simple easy to find what you are looking for.
Simply open the book to the index and sort through to what page you
are finding. Where are the Chicago Manual of Style has its pros and
cons, the formatting and rather large amount of information relating to
the a given grammar rules can become overwhelming and hard to
follow.
In addition to the simple organization of the grammar
rulesprinciples, The Elements of Style does a good job of utilizing white
space when laying out rules and their examples that follow. I relish this
layout because it is personally easier for me to go about the text and
later relate back to how these grammar rules will be used. Another
fantastic attribute to this book is the glossary, which contains
definitions of words pertaining to your grammatical needs. There are
words listed in here from what a verb is (page 132), and then there are
definitions for words like colloquialism, which is defined as a word or
expression appropriate to informal conversation but not usually
suitable for academic or business writing (page 126).
There are is a plethora of grammar and language resources that satisfy
a wide variety of peoples needs. The Elements of Style is a great
resource not only because of its vibrant pictures and grammar

examples, but also its ability to aid in the learning of grammar rules
and styling. I would recommend this piece book to anyone who does
not pick up on ideas as fast as others and would like to learn about
grammar in a systematic and vibrantly- painted way.

Bibliography

Grossman, John, ed. 4, The Chicago Manual of Style. University of

Chicago Press, 1993.

Strunk, William and E.B White. The Elements of Style (Illustrated). A

Penguin Book Reference, 2007.