The Elements of Style

The Elements of Style
The Elements of Style was written by William Strunk, Jr. in 1918 and was originally printed as a private edition for the use of his students but later on became a classic on the local campus and was often referred to as “the little book.” It is one of the best-known and most influential prescriptive treatments of English grammar and usage, and often is required reading in U.S. high school and university composition classes. It comprised eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of 49 "words and expressions commonly misused", and a list of 57 "words often misspelled". Strunk concentrated on the cultivation of good writing and composition. Time magazine listed this as one of 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923. This version is based on the public-domain text from 1918, which was originally uploaded to Wikibooks and wikified by Wikibooks:User:Lord Emsworth in 2003.