THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE (2011 EDITION)

The Elements of Style William Strunk, Jr. Newly Revised and Edited by Chris Hong Former Editor, Harvard University © 2011 The Elements of Style Press TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTORY II. ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE 1. Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's. 2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last. 3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas. 4. Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause. 5. Do not join independent clauses by a comma. 6. Do not break sentences in two. 7. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject. 8. Divide words at line-ends, in accordance with their formation and pronunciation. III. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION 9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic. 10. As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning. 11. Use the active voice. 12. Put statements in positive form. 13. Omit needless words. 14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences......