According To The Elements of Style - Which Answer Choice is Consistent With Strunk’s Rules?

According To The Elements of Style, Which Answer Choice is Consistent With Strunk’s Rules?

If someone looks for the core context of the 'Elements of Style' under the Rules of Stunk, it's about omitting 'needless words' through revised writing.

Now, below is a detailed context of Strunk's take on guiding the American Vocabulary -

The primary thing that Strunk emphasises is - The act of writing is strong when it's concise.

For the same reason that a painting should not have unnecessary lines and a machine should not have unnecessary parts, a sentence should not contain any unnecessary words, and a paragraph should not contain any needless sentences.

Hence, to include these suggestions in a guideline, William Strunk divides his rules into

Elementary Rules of Usage
Elementary Principles of Composition
A Few Matters of Form
Words and Expressions Commonly Misused Spelling
Exercises in Chapters II and III

Among these, the first two sections focus on the accuracy of sentences, precise and to-the-point writing, and most importantly reduction of lengthy phrases.

Background of Strunk's 'Elements of Style

One of the most influential books on 'writing' is The Elements of Style, as authored by Strunk & White.

The main demands of the simple English style are intended to be covered in a condensed amount of time.

By focusing on a few key points, the use of guidelines and compositional principles that are most frequently disregarded (in Chapters II and III), it seeks to make the role of the instructor and student easier.

The section numbers can be used as references when editing a manuscript.

The book only covers a small portion of the subject of English style, but the author's experience has shown that once students have learned the fundamentals, they benefit most from individualised instruction focused on the issues in their own work.

Each instructor also has his or her own body of theory that they prefer to that provided by any textbook.

What Precisely Does Strunk Say in the Elements of Style?

Strunk focused on the 'development of effective writing and composition'.

If you follow the initial 1918 version, it urged writers to "omit unnecessary words," "use the active voice," and "appropriately employ parallelism."

The "Introduction" essay, which White adapted from his magazine article about Strunk, and the last chapter, "An Approach to Style," a more comprehensive and directive manual for writing in English, are all included in the 1959 edition.

And all of these directions are for the next generation who must write in the context of simple yet engaging content in American literature.

Here are the main two segments of rules as instructed by Strunk -

Elementary Rules of Usage

Add "s" to form the possessive singular form of nouns.
Use a comma after each term in a group of three or more with a single conjunction, excluding the final one.
Put commas between parenthetic expressions.
Before conjunction, one must introduce a coordinate clause, and a comma should be used.
Independent clauses should not be joined by a comma.
Avoid dividing sentences into two.
The grammatical subject must be mentioned in a participial phrase at the start of a sentence.

Elementary Principles of Composition

Make a paragraph of the primary literary unit, with one for each theme.
As a general rule, start each paragraph with a topic sentence and end it in keeping with the start.
Adopt an active voice.
Put assertions in the affirmative
Use language that is clear, concise, and concrete.
Leave out terms that aren't necessary.
Avoid using a series of incomplete sentences.
express complementary concepts in the same manner
Organise similar terms together.
Keep summaries to a single tense.
The conclusive words of a sentence should be emphatic.

The Contradictory Approach against Strunk's Rules

Though Strunk's guideline was accepted majorly by the Colleges of America, it still received significant criticism.

In 'The Land of the Free and The Elements of Style,' according to Geoffrey Pullum, there is far more to be said against The Elements of Style. He states that the 'Elements of Style' is a useless manual for English usage and has had a negative impact on grammar instruction in America.

Moreover, Pullum does not believe the problem is minor. The Elements of Style actually and irreparably have the possibility to hurt the creative sentiments of people.

Pullum further says that Strunk's this particular set of guidelines promotes the waste of valuable resources, including the time and money spent by English departments and publishers, as well as by teachers, students, and copy editors.

Pullum is not an advocate for the group that White once derisively referred to as "the modern liberal of the English Department, the anything-goes fellow."

However, Pullum takes issue with the time wasted in attempting to dispel students' misconceptions about English grammar. He also believes that this is a linguistic issue with particularly significant practical significance.

So, linguists shouldn't be afraid to denounce all the wrongdoing caused by this opinionated, well-respected, mistake-filled, time-wasting book zombie.

Frequently Asked Questions-

Q.1: Is Strunk and White's book still relevant?

Yes, the book still matters if you take "Strunk & White" as the title. However, if you consider it to be the names of two distinct individuals, then the original author and his revisionist are still important.

Q.2: What, according to Strunk, should we do if we don't know how to say a word?

Strunk advises against using a big word when a simple one will serve. Instead, always omit a word if it's possible to do so. Also, one must never employ the passive while the action is available. Never use a foreign expression, a term from a specific field of study, or jargon when you can think of a regular English translation.

Q.3: Can MyAssignmenthelp.com assist me with Strunk and White's rule 3?

Yes, our experts can. You see, Rule 3 states the following:

A comma separates the phrase or subordinate clause from the sentence's main clause.

To learn more on the same, you can chat with us.

Q.4: Why should I omit redundant phrases?

Your work will be clearer, cleaner, and more succinct if unnecessary words are left out, or a simple word is used in place of one of these phrases. Additionally, it inspires confidence in the reader about your ability to convey your ideas.