The Elements of Style Workbook

The Elements of Style Workbook honors the original masterpiece by William Strunk, Jr. published in 1920, with relevant updates for modern times. We have adapted Strunk’s original work to include essential exercises (with answer keys) to help novice writers gain command of stylistic structures and devices through guided practice, and to guide more experienced writers through the nuances of commanding style.

Essential for today’s writers, Strunk’s original chapters regarding rules of usage and principles of composition are represented in this workbook. These original lessons, along with style exercises that teach writers to flex their writing style at will, include sentence writing, paragraph writing, and style writing exercises that amplify the impact of the original work by William Strunk, Jr.

True to Strunk’s original masterpiece, this Elements of Style Workbook addresses the most common and useful issues novice writers face, which are the same ones plaguing English writers for over a century. We honor Strunk’s identification of these main writing challenges, and do not dilute the prominence of these points with either less difficult or more advanced grammatical lessons. In this way, we retain Strunk’s original focus on the essentials. We have reproduced these essential lessons here and provided targeted practice to enable writers to strengthen those skills.

While holding true to the original Elements of Style , this workbook also amplifies some troublesome yet vital stylistic points of practice with the following augmentations:

•Grammar on past perfect

•Expansive style section based on Noah Webster’s style types

•Extensive practice with the multitude of styles Webster delineates, using excerpts from literature masters as examples and guides

None of these highly useful components were present in the original Elements of Style, nor have they been represented in any edition since then.

Style Types

The style section draws from Noah Webster’s articulate delineations of style types. Each style type draws from a master of literature illustrating that particular style, then challenges writers to imitate, recreate, and alter styles at will. The following style types, identified by Webster, are included in this workbook:

1.Forceful

2.Vehement

3.Elegant

4.Brief

5.Copious or diffusive

6.Precise

7.Neat

8.Loose

9.Feeble

10.Plain

Together, these style types represent the vast majority of writing styles used by literary masters in the English language.

An English writing workbook like no other

With its loyalty to the highly acclaimed and extremely successful original edition of Strunk’s The Elements of Style , augmented by Webster’s clearly defined articulation of style types and supplemented by ample, targeted, and clear exercises for each component, The Elements of Style Workbook offers an essential writing resource like no other. Whether you are beginning your journey to quality writing or would like to refine your command of voice and style, you will find this updated version of a tried-and-true resource, The Elements of Style Workbook , a vital aid and guide.