Elements of StyleThis book is intended for use in English courses in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims to give in a brief space the principal requirements of plain English style. It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention (in Chapters II and III) on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correcting manuscript. The book covers only a small portion of the field of English style, but the experience of its writer has been that once past the essentials, students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work, and that each instructor has his own body of theory, which he prefers to that offered by any textbook. |
Contents
Chapter 1 Introductory | 1 |
Chapter 2 Elementary Rules of Usage | 3 |
Chapter 3 Elementary Principles of Composition | 12 |
Chapter 4 A Few Matters of Form | 32 |
Chapter 5 Words and Expressions Commonly Misused | 35 |
Chapter 6 Words Commonly Misspelled | 49 |
Series Bibliography | 52 |
Resources | 53 |
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Common terms and phrases
action antecedent application Authors avoid became becomes beginning better body brief Chapter character clauses combination comes comma common Compare Composition concise conjunction connectives correct definite depend develop discussed effects emphatic English examples export expression fact follow frequently given gives ideas illustrate important independent indicate interesting introduced kind king learned less literature longer loose means mile Misused narrative nature necessary never noun objection Omit paragraph parenthesis past periodic person phrase poem position possessive preceded present principle prominent proper punctuation quotation quotation marks reach reader reason references relative replaced requires rule sense similar simply single situation sometimes statement story student style substitute summary tense term third thought topic sentence unless usage usually verb violation voice walking wish word worth writing written