The definitive classic of English composition is presented here in its original, complete form for writers of all stripes to absorb.
First published in 1918, The Elements of Style is packed with examples of good grammar, spelling, punctuation and general sentence structure. Every piece of advice on writing style is relevant and useful to this day, with many of the bad habits the author sought to quell in readers still occurring frequently. William Strunk Jr.'s primary source, Oxford University Press and its dictionaries, is the very emblem of authority in English.
Students, the aspiring writer, teachers of English, and professional grammarians or authors have for a century benefited from reading and absorbing The Elements of Style. Many offices and schools keep a copy, or several, for prompt reference and checking of a grammatical rule or a method of sentence construction.
William Strunk Jr. was a professor of English at Cornell University. As well as his speciality of English, he was a committed student of ancient languages and their structure. He was also highly involved with linguistic morphology, which is the study of individual words and their formation.
