The Elements of Style | Themes
Brevity
One principle that runs throughout The Elements of Style is that of brevity. To Strunk and White, good writing expresses thoughts economically. One of their ‘‘principles of composition’’ is to ‘‘omit needless words.’’ The next rule advises to ‘‘avoid a succession of loose sentences.’’ Later in the book, they instruct: ‘‘Do not explain too much.’’ By way of examples, they shorten ‘‘in a hasty manner’’ to ‘‘hastily,’’ ‘‘he is a man who’’ to ‘‘he,’’ and so on. They make a special example of ‘‘the...
[The entire page is 638 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Tell a friend about The Elements of Style at eNotes.
