The Elements of Style 1918 version

Contents

PREFACEI

INTRODUCTORY

IIELEMENTARYRULESOF

USAGE

1.Formthepossessivesingularofnounswith’s.................2.Inaseriesofthreeormoretermswithasingleconjunction,useacommaafter

eachtermexceptthelast..........................3.Encloseparentheticexpressionsbetweencommas...............4.Placeacommabeforeandorbutintroducinganindependentclause.......5.Donotjoinindependentclausesbyacomma..................6.Donotbreaksentencesintwo.........................7.Aparticipialphraseatthebeginningofasentencemustrefertothegrammatical

subject..................................8.Dividewordsatline-ends,inaccordancewiththeirformationandpronunciation.

IIIELEMENTARYPRINCIPLES

OFCOMPOSITION

9.Maketheparagraphtheunitofcomposition:oneparagraphtoeachtopic....10.Asarule,begineachparagraphwithatopicsentence;enditinconformitywith

thebeginning...............................11.Usetheactivevoice.............................12.Putstatementsinpositiveform........................13.Omitneedlesswords.............................14.Avoidasuccessionofloosesentences....................15.Expressco-ordinateideasinsimilarform...................16.Keeprelatedwordstogether.........................17.Insummaries,keeptoonetense.......................18.Placetheemphaticwordsofasentenceattheend...............

IVA

FEWMATTERSOFFORM

VWORDSANDEXPRESSIONSCOMMONLYMISUSEDVIWORDS

OFTENMISSPELLED

i

III

1334467101313151820212324252728313545

iiCONTENTSPREFACE

Assertingthatonemustfirstknowtherulestobreakthem,thisclassicreferenceisamust-haveforanystudentandconscientiouswriter.Intendedforuseinwhichthepracticeofcompositioniscombinedwiththestudyofliterature,itgivesinbriefspacetheprincipalrequirementsofplainEnglishstyleandconcentratesattentionontherulesofusageandprinciplesofcompositionmostcommonlyviolated.

iii

ivPREFACE

ChapterI

INTRODUCTORY

ThisbookisintendedforuseinEnglishcoursesinwhichthepracticeofcompositioniscombinedwiththestudyofliterature.ItaimstogiveinbriefspacetheprincipalrequirementsofplainEnglishstyle.Itaimstolightenthetaskofinstructorandstudentbyconcentratingattention(inChaptersIIandIII)onafewessentials,therulesofusageandprinciplesofcompositionmostcommonlyviolated.Thenumbersofthesectionsmaybeusedasreferencesincorrectingmanuscript.

ThebookcoversonlyasmallportionofthefieldofEnglishstyle,buttheexperienceofitswriterhasbeenthatoncepasttheessentials,studentsprofitmostbyindividualinstructionbasedontheproblemsoftheirownwork,andthateachinstructorhashisownbodyoftheory,whichhepreferstothatofferedbyanytextbook.

Thewriter’scolleaguesintheDepartmentofEnglishinCornellUniversityhavegreatlyhelpedhiminthepreparationofhismanuscript.Mr.GeorgeMcLaneWoodhaskindlyconsentedtotheinclusionunderRule11ofsomematerialfromhisSuggestionstoAuthors.

Thefollowingbooksarerecommendedforreferenceorfurtherstudy:inconnec-tionwithChaptersIIandIV,F.HowardCollins,AuthorandPrinter(HenryFrowde);ChicagoUniversityPress,ManualofStyle;T.L.DeVinne,CorrectComposition(TheCenturyCompany);HoraceHart,RulesforCompositorsandPrinters(OxfordUniver-sityPress);GeorgeMcLaneWood,ExtractsfromtheStyle-BookoftheGovernmentPrintingOffice(UnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey);inconnectionwithChaptersIIIandV,SirArthurQuiller-Couch,TheArtofWriting(Putnams),especiallythechapter,In-terludeonJargon;GeorgeMcLaneWood,SuggestionstoAuthors(UnitedStatesGeo-logicalSurvey);JohnLeslieHall,EnglishUsage(Scott,ForesmanandCo.);JamesP.Kelly,WorkmanshipinWords(Little,BrownandCo.).

1

2CHAPTERI.INTRODUCTORY

Itisanoldobservationthatthebestwriterssometimesdisregardtherulesofrhetoric.Whentheydoso,however,thereaderwillusuallyfindinthesentencesomecompen-satingmerit,attainedatthecostoftheviolation.Unlessheiscertainofdoingaswell,hewillprobablydobesttofollowtherules.Afterhehaslearned,bytheirguidance,towriteplainEnglishadequateforeverydayuses,lethimlook,forthesecretsofstyle,tothestudyofthemastersofliterature.

ChapterII

ELEMENTARY

RULESOFUSAGE

1.Formthepossessivesingularofnounswith’s

Followthisrulewhateverthefinalconsonant.Thuswrite,

ThisistheusageoftheUnitedStatesGovernmentPrintingOfficeandoftheOxfordUniversityPress.

Exceptionsarethepossessivesofancientpropernamesin-esand-is,thepossessiveJesus’,andsuchformsasforconscience’sake,forrighteousness’sake.ButsuchformsasAchilles’heel,Moses’laws,Isis’templearecommonlyreplacedby

Thepronominalpossessiveshers,its,theirs,yours,andoneselfhavenoapostrophe.

3

4CHAPTERII.ELEMENTARYRULESOFUSAGE

2.Inaseriesofthreeormoretermswithasingleconjunction,useacommaaftereachtermexceptthelast

Thuswrite,

ThisisalsotheusageoftheGovernmentPrintingOfficeandoftheOxfordUniversityPress.

Inthenamesofbusinessfirmsthelastcommaisomitted,as

Theabbreviationetc.,evenifonlyasingletermcomesbeforeit,isalwaysprecededbyacomma.

3.Encloseparentheticexpressionsbetweencommas

Thisruleisdifficulttoapply;itisfrequentlyhardtodecidewhetherasingleword,suchashowever,orabriefphrase,isorisnotparenthetic.Iftheinterruptiontotheflowofthesentenceisbutslight,thewritermaysafelyomitthecommas.Butwhethertheinterruptionbeslightorconsiderable,hemustneveromitonecommaandleavetheother.Suchpunctuationas

isindefensible.

5

Non-restrictiverelativeclausesare,inaccordancewiththisrule,setoffbycommas.

Similarclausesintroducedbywhereandwhenaresimilarlypunctuated.

Inthesesentencestheclausesintroducedbywhich,when,andwherearenon-restrictive;theydonotlimittheapplicationofthewordsonwhichtheydepend,butadd,paren-thetically,statementssupplementingthoseintheprincipalclauses.Eachsentenceisacombinationoftwostatmentswhichmighthavebeenmadeindependently.

Restrictiverelativeclausesarenotsetoffbycommas.

Inthissentencetherelativeclauserestrictstheapplicationofthewordcandidatetoasingleperson.Unlikethoseabove,thesentencecannotbesplitintotwoindependentstatements.

Theabbreviationsetc.andjr.arealwaysprecededbyacomma,andexceptattheendofasentence,followedbyone.

6CHAPTERII.ELEMENTARYRULESOFUSAGE

Similarinprincipletotheenclosingofparentheticexpressionsbetweencommasisthesettingoffbycommasofphrasesordependentclausesprecedingorfollowingthemainclauseofasentence.ThesentencesquotedinthissectionandunderRules4,5,6,7,16,and18shouldaffordsufficientguidance.

Ifaparentheticexpressionisprecededbyaconjunction,placethefirstcommabeforetheconjunction,notafterit.

4.Placeacommabeforeandorbutintroducinganindependentclause

Sentencesofthistype,isolatedfromtheircontext,mayseemtobeinneedofrewrit-ing.Astheymakecompletesensewhenthecommaisreached,thesecondclausehastheappearanceofanafter-thought.Further,and,istheleastspecificofconnectives.Usedbetweenindependentclauses,itindicatesonlythatarelationexistsbetweenthemwithoutdefiningthatrelation.Intheexampleabove,therelationisthatofcauseandresult.Thetwosentencesmightberewritten:

Orthesubordinateclausesmightbereplacedbyphrases:

7

Butawritermayerrbymakinghissentencestoouniformlycompactandperiodic,andanoccasionalloosesentencepreventsthestylefrombecomingtooformalandgivesthereaderacertainrelief.Consequently,loosesentencesofthetypefirstquotedarecommonineasy,unstudiedwriting.Butawritershouldbecarefulnottoconstructtoomanyofhissentencesafterthispattern(seeRule14).

Two-partsentencesofwhichthesecondmemberisintroducedbyas(inthesenseofbecause),for,or,nor,andwhile(inthesenseofandatthesametime)likewiserequireacommabeforetheconjunction.

Ifadependentclause,oranintroductoryphraserequiringtobesetoffbyacomma,precedesthesecondindependentclause,nocommaisneededaftertheconjunction.

Fortwo-partsentencesconnectedbyanadverb,seethenextsection.

5.Donotjoinindependentclausesbyacomma

Iftwoormoreclauses,grammaticallycompleteandnotjoinedbyaconjunction,aretoformasinglecompoundsentence,thepropermarkofpunctuationisasemicolon.

Itisofcourseequallycorrecttowritetheaboveastwosentenceseach,replacingthesemicolonsbyperiods.

Ifaconjunctionisinserted,thepropermarkisacomma(Rule4).

8CHAPTERII.ELEMENTARYRULESOFUSAGE

Itisnearlyhalfpastfive,andwecannotreachtownbeforedark.

Ihadneverbeenintheplacebefore;soIhaddifficultyinfindingmywayabout.

AsIhadneverbeenintheplacebefore,Ihaddifficultyinfindingmywayabout.

Manproposes,Goddisposes.

Thegateswungapart,thebridgefell,theportculliswasdrawnup.

ImetthemonaCunardlinerseveralyearsago.CominghomefromLiverpooltoNewYork.

Hewasaninterestingtalker.Amanwhohadtraveledallovertheworld,andlivedinhalfadozencountries.

9

Itispermissibletomakeanemphaticwordorexpressionservethepurposeofasen-tenceandtopunctuateitaccordingly:

Thewritermust,however,becertainthattheemphasisiswarranted,andthathewillnotbesuspectedofamereblunderinpunctuation.

Rules3,4,5,and6coverthemostimportantprinciplesinthepunctuationofordinarysentences;theyshouldbesothoroughlymasteredthattheirapplicationbecomessecondnature.

7.Aparticipialphraseatthebeginningofasentencemustrefertothegrammaticalsubject

Thewordwalkingreferstothesubjectofthesentence,nottothewoman.Ifthewriterwishestomakeitrefertothewoman,hemustrecastthesentence:

Participialphrasesprecededbyaconjunctionorbyapreposition,nounsinapposition,adjectives,andadjectivephrasescomeunderthesameruleiftheybeginthesentence.

Whenhearrived(or,Onhisar-rival)inChicago,hisfriendsmethimatthestation.

Asoldierofprovedvalor,theyentrustedhimwiththedefenceofthecity.

Youngandinexperienced,Ithoughtthetaskeasy.

Withoutafriendtocounselhim,thetemptationprovedir-resistible.

10CHAPTERII.ELEMENTARYRULESOFUSAGE

Sentencesviolatingthisruleareoftenludicrous.

8.Dividewordsatline-ends,inaccordancewiththeirformationandpronunciation

Ifthereisroomattheendofalineforoneormoresyllablesofaword,butnotforthewholeword,dividetheword,unlessthisinvolvescuttingoffonlyasingleletter,orcuttingoffonlytwolettersofalongword.Nohardandfastruleforallwordscanbelaiddown.Theprinciplesmostfrequentlyapplicableare:A.Dividethewordaccordingtoitsformation:

B.Divide“onthevowel:”

propo-sition

ordi-nary

oppo-nents

regu-lar

presi-dent

Apen-nines

tell-ing

11

pic-ture

presump-tuous

indus-try

instruc-tion

12CHAPTERII.ELEMENTARYRULESOFUSAGE

ChapterIII

ELEMENTARY

COMPOSITION

PRINCIPLESOF

9.Maketheparagraphtheunitofcomposition:oneparagraphtoeachtopic

Ifthesubjectonwhichyouarewritingisofslightextent,orifyouintendtotreatitverybriefly,theremaybenoneedofsubdividingitintotopics.Thusabriefdescription,abriefsummaryofaliterarywork,abriefaccountofasingleincident,anarrativemerelyoutlininganaction,thesettingforthofasingleidea,anyoneoftheseisbestwritteninasingleparagraph.Aftertheparagraphhasbeenwritten,itshouldbeexaminedtoseewhethersubdivisionwillnotimproveit.

Ordinarily,however,asubjectrequiressubdivisionintotopics,eachofwhichshouldbemadethesubjectofaparagraph.Theobjectoftreatingeachtopicinaparagraphbyitselfis,ofcourse,toaidthereader.Thebeginningofeachparagraphisasignaltohimthatanewstepinthedevelopmentofthesubjecthasbeenreached.

Theextentofsubdivisionwillvarywiththelengthofthecomposition.Forexample,ashortnoticeofabookorpoemmightconsistofasingleparagraph.Oneslightlylongermightconsistoftwoparagraphs:A.Accountofthework.B.Criticaldiscussion.

13

14CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

Areportonapoem,writtenforaclassinliterature,mightconsistofsevenparagraphs:A.Factsofcompositionandpublication.B.Kindofpoem;metricalform.C.Subject.

D.Treatmentofsubject.E.Forwhatchieflyremarkable.F.Whereincharacteristicofthewriter.G.Relationshiptootherworks.

ThecontentsofparagraphsCandDwouldvarywiththepoem.Usually,paragraphCwouldindicatetheactualorimaginedcircumstancesofthepoem(thesituation),ifthesecallforexplanation,andwouldthenstatethesubjectandoutlineitsdevelopment.Ifthepoemisanarrativeinthethirdpersonthroughout,paragraphCneedcontainnomorethanaconcisesummaryoftheaction.ParagraphDwouldindicatetheleadingideasandshowhowtheyaremadeprominent,orwouldindicatewhatpointsinthenarrativearechieflyemphasized.

Anovelmightbediscussedundertheheads:A.Setting.B.Plot.

C.Characters.D.Purpose.

Ahistoricaleventmightbediscussedundertheheads:A.Whatleduptotheevent.B.Accountoftheevent.C.Whattheeventledupto.

Intreatingeitheroftheselasttwosubjects,thewriterwouldprobablyfinditnecessarytosubdivideoneormoreofthetopicsheregiven.

Asarule,singlesentencesshouldnotbewrittenorprintedasparagraphs.

Anexceptionmaybemadeofsentencesoftransition,indicatingtherelationbetweenthepartsofanexpositionorargument.

Indialogue,eachspeech,evenifonlyasingleword,isaparagraphbyitself;thatis,anewparagraphbeginswitheachchangeofspeaker.Theapplicationofthisrule,when

15

dialogueandnarrativearecombined,isbestlearnedfromexamplesinwell-printedworksoffiction.

10.Asarule,begineachparagraphwithatopicsentence;enditinconformitywiththebeginning

Again,theobjectistoaidthereader.Thepracticehererecommendedenableshimtodiscoverthepurposeofeachparagraphashebeginstoreadit,andtoretainthepurposeinmindasheendsit.Forthisreason,themostgenerallyusefulkindofparagraph,particularlyinexpositionandargument,isthatinwhichA.thetopicsentencecomesatornearthebeginning;

B.thesucceedingsentencesexplainorestablishordevelopthestatement

madeinthetopicsentence;andC.thefinalsentenceeitheremphasizesthethoughtofthetopicsentenceor

statessomeimportantconsequence.Endingwithadigression,orwithanunimportantdetail,isparticularlytobeavoided.Iftheparagraphformspartofalargercomposition,itsrelationtowhatprecedes,oritsfunctionasapartofthewhole,mayneedtobeexpressed.Thiscansometimesbedonebyamerewordorphrase(again;therefore;forthesamereason)inthetopicsentence.Sometimes,however,itisexpedienttoprecedethetopicsentencebyoneormoresentencesofintroductionortransition.Ifmorethanonesuchsentenceisrequired,itisgenerallybettertosetapartthetransitionalsentencesasaseparateparagraph.Accordingtothewriter’spurpose,hemay,asindicatedabove,relatethebodyoftheparagraphtothetopicsentenceinoneormoreofseveraldifferentways.Hemaymakethemeaningofthetopicsentenceclearerbyrestatingitinotherforms,bydefiningitsterms,bydenyingtheconverse,bygivingillustrationsorspecificinstances;hemayes-tablishitbyproofs;orhemaydevelopitbyshowingitsimplicationsandconsequences.Inalongparagraph,hemaycarryoutseveraloftheseprocesses.

1Topicsentence.

2Ifyougoinacompany,oreveninpairs,itisnolongerawalkingtourinanythingbutname;itissomethingelseandmoreinthenatureofapicnic.

16CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

3Awalkingtourshouldbegoneuponalone,becausefree-domisoftheessence;becauseyoushouldbeabletostopandgoon,andfollowthiswayorthat,asthefreaktakesyou;andbecauseyoumusthaveyourownpace,andneithertrotalongsideachampionwalker,norminceintimewithagirl.

4Afourthreason,statedintwoforms.

5Youshouldbeasapipeforanywindtoplayupon.

7WhenIaminthecountry,Iwishtovegetatelikethecoun-try,whichisthegistofallthatcanbesaiduponthematter.

8Repetition,inparaphrase,ofthequotationfromHazlitt.

9Andsolongasamanisreasoninghecannotsurrenderhimselftothatfineintoxicationthatcomesofmuchmotionintheopenair,thatbeginsinasortofdazzleandsluggishnessofthebrain,andendsinapeacethatpassescomprehension.-Stevenson,WalkingTours.

17

1Topicsentence.

2Historiansthencametobe-lievethattheirtaskwasnotsomuchtopaintapictureastosolveaproblem;toexplainorillustratethesuccessivephasesofnationalgrowth,prosperity,andadversity.

3Thedefinitionexpanded.

4Theysoughtrathertowriteahistoryofpeoplesthanahis-toryofkings.

5Thedefinitionsupplemented:anotherelementinthenewconceptionofhistory.

6Theyundertooktostudyinthepastthephysiologyofna-tions,andhopedbyapply-ingtheexperimentalmethodonalargescaletodeducesomelessonsofrealvalueabouttheconditionsonwhichthewel-fareofsocietymainlydepend.-Lecky,ThePoliticalValueofHistory.

18CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

Innarrationanddescriptiontheparagraphsometimesbeginswithaconcise,compre-hensivestatementservingtoholdtogetherthedetailsthatfollow.

Butthisdevice,iftoooftenused,wouldbecomeamannerism.Morecommonlytheopeningsentencesimplyindicatesbyitssubjectwithwhattheparagraphistobeprin-cipallyconcerned.

Thebriefparagraphsofanimatednarrative,however,areoftenwithouteventhissem-blanceofatopicsentence.Thebreakbetweenthemservesthepurposeofarhetoricalpause,throwingintoprominencesomedetailoftheaction.

11.Usetheactivevoice

Theactivevoiceisusuallymoredirectandvigorousthanthepassive:

Thisismuchbetterthan

Thelattersentenceislessdirect,lessbold,andlessconcise.Ifthewritertriestomakeitmoreconcisebyomitting“byme,”

19

itbecomesindefinite:isitthewriter,orsomepersonundisclosed,ortheworldatlarge,thatwillalwaysrememberthisvisit?

Thisruledoesnot,ofcourse,meanthatthewritershouldentirelydiscardthepassivevoice,whichisfrequentlyconvenientandsometimesnecessary.

ThefirstwouldbetherightforminaparagraphonthedramatistsoftheRestoration;thesecond,inaparagraphonthetastesofmodernreaders.Theneedofmakingaparticularwordthesubjectofthesentencewilloften,asintheseexamples,determinewhichvoiceistobeused.

Thehabitualuseoftheactivevoice,however,makesforforciblewriting.Thisistruenotonlyinnarrativeprincipallyconcernedwithaction,butinwritingofanykind.Manyatamesentenceofdescriptionorexpositioncanbemadelivelyandemphaticbysubstitutingatransitiveintheactivevoiceforsomesuchperfunctoryexpressionasthereis,orcouldbeheard.

Deadleavestheground.

Thesoundofthefallscouldstillbeheard.

Failinghealthcompelledhimtoleavecollege.

Itwasnotlongbeforehewasverysorrythathehadsaidwhathehad.

covered

Asarule,avoidmakingonepassivedependdirectlyuponanother.

Itwasforbiddentoexportgold(Theexportofgoldwasprohib-ited).

20CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

Hehasbeenprovedtohavebeenseenenteringthebuilding.

Inboththeexamplesabove,beforecorrection,thewordproperlyrelatedtothesecondpassiveismadethesubjectofthefirst.

Acommonfaultistouseasthesubjectofapassiveconstructionanounwhichex-pressestheentireaction,leavingtotheverbnofunctionbeyondthatofcompletingthesentence.

Thisregionwassurveyedin1900.

Mobilizationofthearmywasrapidlycarriedout.

Thesereportsbeconfirmed.

cannot

Hewasnotveryoftenontime.

HethoughtthestudyofLatinuseless.

TheTamingoftheShrewisratherweakinspots.ShakespearedoesnotportrayKatharineasaveryadmirablecharacter,nordoesBiancaremainlonginmemoryasanimportantcharacterinShakespeare’sworks.

21

Thelastexample,beforecorrection,isindefiniteaswellasnegative.Thecorrectedversion,consequently,issimplyaguessatthewriter’sintention.

Allthreeexamplesshowtheweaknessinherentinthewordnot.Consciouslyorun-consciously,thereaderisdissatisfiedwithbeingtoldonlywhatisnot;hewishestobetoldwhatis.Hence,asarule,itisbettertoexpressanegativeinpositiveform.

dishonest

notimportant

forgot

didnotpayanyattentionto

distrusted

Notcharity,butsimplejustice.

NotthatIlovedCaesarless,butRomethemore.

ThesunneversetsupontheBritishflag.

thequestionastowhether

nodoubt(doubtless)

usedforfuelpurposes

22CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

heisamanwho

hastily

thisisasubjectwhich

Hisstoryisstrange.

owingtothefactthat

though(although)

callyourattentiontothefactthat

Iwasunawarethat(didnotknow)

thefactthathehadnotsucceeded

myarrival

Hisbrother,whoisamemberofthesamefirm

Trafalgar,Nelson’slastbattle

23

Acommonviolationofconcisenessisthepresentationofasinglecomplexidea,stepbystep,inaseriesofsentenceswhichmighttoadvantagebecombinedintoone.

Encouragedbyhiswife,Mac-bethachievedhisambitionandrealizedthepredictionofthewitchesbymurderingDuncanandbecomingkingofScotlandinhisplace.(26words.)

Thethirdconcertofthesubscriptionserieswasgivenlastevening,andalargeaudiencewasinattendance.Mr.Ed-wardAppletonwasthesoloist,andtheBostonSymphonyOrchestrafurnishedtheinstrumentalmusic.Theformershowedhimselftobeanartistofthefirstrank,whilethelatterproveditselffullydeservingofitshighreputation.TheinterestarousedbytheserieshasbeenverygratifyingtotheCommittee,anditisplannedtogiveasimilarseriesannuallyhereafter.ThefourthconcertwillbegivenonTuesday,May10,whenanequallyattractiveprogrammewillbepresented.

24CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

Ifthewriterfindsthathehaswrittenaseriesofsentencesofthetypedescribed,heshouldrecastenoughofthemtoremovethemonotony,replacingthembysimplesen-tences,bysentencesoftwoclausesjoinedbyasemicolon,byperiodicsentencesoftwoclauses,bysentences,looseorperiodic,ofthreeclauses-whicheverbestrepresenttherealrelationsofthethought.

15.Expressco-ordinateideasinsimilarform

Thisprinciple,thatofparallelconstruction,requiresthatexpressionsofsimilarcontentandfunctionshouldbeoutwardlysimilar.Thelikenessofformenablesthereadertorecognizemorereadilythelikenessofcontentandfunction.FamiliarinstancesfromtheBiblearetheTenCommandments,theBeatitudes,andthepetitionsoftheLord’sPrayer.

Theunskilfulwriteroftenviolatesthisprinciple,fromamistakenbeliefthatheshouldconstantlyvarytheformofhisexpressions.Itistruethatinrepeatingastatementinordertoemphasizeithemayhaveneedtovaryitsform.Forillustration,seetheparagraphfromStevensonquotedunderRule10.Butapartfromthis,heshouldfollowtheprincipleofparallelconstruction.

Formerly,sciencewastaughtbythetextbookmethod;nowitistaughtbythelaboratorymethod.

TheFrench,theItalians,Span-ish,andPortuguese

Inspring,summer,orwin-ter(Inspring,insummer,orinwinter)

25

Theceremonywasbothlongandtedious.

Atimenotforwords,butaction

Youmusteithergranthisre-questorincurhisillwill.

Myobjectionsare,first,thein-justiceofthemeasure;second,thatitisunconstitutional.

SeealsothethirdexampleunderRule12andthelastunderRule13.

Itmaybeasked,whatifawriterneedstoexpressaverylargenumberofsimilarideas,saytwenty?Musthewritetwentyconsecutivesentencesofthesamepattern?Oncloserexaminationhewillprobablyfindthatthedifficultyisimaginary,thathistwentyideascanbeclassifiedingroups,andthatheneedapplytheprincipleonlywithineachgroup.Otherwisehehadbestavoidthedifficultybyputtinghisstatementsintheformofatable.

16.Keeprelatedwordstogether

Thepositionofthewordsinasentenceistheprincipalmeansofshowingtheirrela-tionship.Thewritermusttherefore,sofaraspossible,bringtogetherthewords,andgroupsofwords,thatarerelatedinthought,andkeepapartthosewhicharenotsorelated.

Thesubjectofasentenceandtheprincipalverbshouldnot,asarule,beseparatedbyaphraseorclausethatcanbetransferredtothebeginning.

InthefifthbookofTheEx-cursion,Wordsworthgivesaminutedescriptionofthischurch.

Castiron,whentreatedinaBessemerconverter,ischangedintosteel.

Theobjectionisthattheinterposedphraseorclauseneedlesslyinterruptsthenaturalorderofthemainclause.Thisobjection,however,doesnotusuallyholdwhentheorder

26CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

isinterruptedonlybyarelativeclauseorbyanexpressioninapposition.Nordoesitholdinperiodicsentencesinwhichtheinterruptionisadeliberatelyusedmeansofcreatingsuspense(seeexamplesunderRule18).

Therelativepronounshouldcome,asarule,immediatelyafteritsantecedent.

Inhiseyewasalookthatbodedmischief.

HewrotethreearticlesabouthisadventuresinSpain,whichwerepublishedinHarper’sMagazine.

ThisisaportraitofBenjaminHarrison,grandsonofWilliamHenryHarrison.HebecamePresidentin18.

TheSuperintendentoftheChicagoDivision,who

AproposaltoamendtheSher-manAct,whichhasbeenvari-ouslyjudged

Aproposaltoamendthemuch-debatedShermanAct

ThegrandsonofWilliamHenryHarrison,who

Anouninappositionmaycomebetweenantecedentandrelative,becauseinsuchacombinationnorealambiguitycanarise.

Modifiersshouldcome,ifpossiblenexttothewordtheymodify.Ifseveralexpressionsmodifythesameword,theyshouldbesoarrangedthatnowrongrelationissuggested.

27

Allthememberswerenotpresent.

Hefoundonlytwomistakes.

MajorR.E.JoycewillgivealectureonTuesdayeveninginBaileyHall,towhichthepublicisinvited,on“MyExperiencesinMesopotamia”ateightP.M.

17.Insummaries,keeptoonetense

Insummarizingtheactionofadrama,thewritershouldalwaysusethepresenttense.Insummarizingapoem,story,ornovel,heshouldpreferablyusethepresent,thoughhemayusethepastifheprefers.Ifthesummaryisinthepresenttense,antecedentactionshouldbeexpressedbytheperfect;ifinthepast,bythepastperfect.

Butwhichevertensebeusedinthesummary,apasttenseinindirectdiscourseorinindirectquestionremainsunchanged.

Apartfromtheexceptionsnoted,whichevertensethewriterchooses,heshouldusethroughout.Shiftingfromonetensetotheothergivestheappearanceofuncertaintyandirresolution(compareRule15).

Inpresentingthestatementsorthethoughtofsomeoneelse,asinsummarizinganessayorreportingaspeech,thewritershouldavoidintercalatingsuchexpressionsas“hesaid,”“hestated,”“thespeakeradded,”“thespeakerthenwentontosay,”“theauthoralsothinks,”orthelike.Heshouldindicateclearlyattheoutset,onceforall,thatwhatfollowsissummary,andthenwastenowordsinrepeatingthenotification.

28CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

Innotebooks,innewspapers,inhandbooksofliterature,summariesofonekindoranothermaybeindispensable,andforchildreninprimaryschoolsitisausefulexercisetoretellastoryintheirownwords.Butinthecriticismorinterpretationofliteraturethewritershouldbecarefultoavoiddroppingintosummary.Hemayfinditnecessarytodevoteoneortwosentencestoindicatingthesubject,ortheopeningsituation,oftheworkheisdiscussing;hemaycitenumerousdetailstoillustrateitsqualities.Butheshouldaimtowriteanorderlydiscussionsupportedbyevidence,notasummarywithoccasionalcomment.Similarly,ifthescopeofhisdiscussionincludesanumberofworks,hewillasaruledobetternottotakethemupsinglyinchronologicalorder,buttoaimfromthebeginningatestablishinggeneralconclusions.

18.Placetheemphaticwordsofasentenceattheend

Theproperplacefortheword,orgroupofwords,whichthewriterdesirestomakemostprominentisusuallytheendofthesentence.

Humanity,sincethattime,hasadvancedinmanyotherways,butithashardlyadvancedinfortitude.

Thissteelisprincipallyusedformakingrazors,becauseofitshardness.

Thewordorgroupofwordsentitledtothispositionofprominenceisusuallythelogicalpredicate,thatis,thenewelementinthesentence,asitisinthesecondexample.Theeffectivenessoftheperiodicsentencearisesfromtheprominencewhichitgivestothemainstatement.

29

Theotherprominentpositioninthesentenceisthebeginning.Anyelementinthesentence,otherthanthesubject,becomesemphaticwhenplacedfirst.

Asubjectcomingfirstinitssentencemaybeemphatic,buthardlybyitspositionalone.Inthesentence,

theemphasisuponkingsariseslargelyfromitsmeaningandfromthecontext.Tore-ceivespecialemphasis,thesubjectofasentencemusttakethepositionofthepredicate.

Theprinciplethattheproperplaceforwhatistobemademostprominentistheendappliesequallytothewordsofasentence,tothesentencesofaparagraph,andtotheparagraphsofacomposition.

30CHAPTERIII.ELEMENTARYPRINCIPLESOFCOMPOSITION

ChapterIV

A

FEWMATTERSOFFORM

Headings.Leaveablankline,oritsequivalentinspace,afterthetitleorheadingofamanuscript.Onsucceedingpages,ifusingruledpaper,beginonthefirstline.

Numerals.Donotspelloutdatesorotherserialnumbers.WritetheminfiguresorinRomannotation,asmaybeappropriate.

ChapterXII

Rule3

Parentheses.Asentencecontaininganexpressioninparenthesisispunctuated,outsideofthemarksofparenthesis,exactlyasiftheexpressioninparenthesiswereabsent.Theexpressionwithinispunctuatedasifitstoodbyitself,exceptthatthefinalstopisomittedunlessitisaquestionmarkoranexclamationpoint.

(Whenawhollydetachedexpressionorsentenceisparenthesized,thefinalstopcomesbeforethelastmarkofparenthesis.)

Quotations.Formalquotations,citedasdocumentaryevidence,areintroducedbyacolonandenclosedinquotationmarks.

31

32CHAPTERIV.AFEWMATTERSOFFORM

Quotationsgrammaticallyinappositionorthedirectobjectsofverbsarepre-cededbyacommaandenclosedinquotationmarks.

Quotationsofanentireline,ormore,ofverse,arebegunonafreshlineandcentred,butnotenclosedinquotationmarks.

Quotationsintroducedbythatareregardedasinindirectdiscourseandnoten-closedinquotationmarks.

Proverbialexpressionsandfamiliarphrasesofliteraryoriginrequirenoquota-tionmarks.

Thesameistrueofcolloquialismsandslang.

References.Inscholarlyworkrequiringexactreferences,abbreviatetitlesthatoccurfrequently,givingthefullformsinanalphabeticallistattheend.Asageneralpractice,givethereferencesinparenthesisorinfootnotes,notinthebodyofthesentence.Omitthewordsact,scene,line,book,volume,page,exceptwhenreferringbyonlyoneofthem.Punctuateasindicatedbelow.

InIII.ii(stillbetter,simplyin-sertIII.iiinparenthesisattheproperplaceinthesentence)

AfterthekillingofPolonius,Hamletisplacedunderguard(IV.ii.14).

33

2Samueli:17-27

Titles.Forthetitlesofliteraryworks,scholarlyusageprefersitalicswithcap-italizedinitials.Theusageofeditorsandpublishersvaries,someusingitalicswithcapitalizedinitials,othersusingRomanwithcapitalizedinitialsandwithorwithoutquotationmarks.Useitalics(indicatedinmanuscriptbyunderscoring),exceptinwritingforaperiodicalthatfollowsadifferentpractice.OmitinitialAorThefromtitleswhenyouplacethepossessivebeforethem.

34CHAPTERIV.AFEWMATTERSOFFORM

ChapterV

WORDS

ANDEXPRESSIONS

COMMONLYMISUSED

(ManyofthewordsandexpressionsherelistedarenotsomuchbadEnglishasbadstyle,thecommonplacesofcarelesswriting.AsillustratedunderFeature,thepropercorrectionislikelytobenotthereplacementofonewordorsetofwordsbyanother,butthereplacementofvaguegeneralitybydefinitestatement.)

Allright.Idiomaticinfamiliarspeechasadetachedphraseinthesense,“Agreed,”or

“Goahead.”Inotherusesbetteravoided.Alwayswrittenastwowords.Asgoodorbetterthan.Expressionsofthistypeshouldbecorrectedbyrearranging

thesentence.

Myopinionisasgoodashis,orbetter(ifnotbetter).

Inmanycases,theroomswerepoorlyventilated.

Fewmistakeshavebeenmade.

36CHAPTERV.WORDSANDEXPRESSIONSCOMMONLYMISUSED

SeeWood,SuggestionstoAuthors,pp.68-71,andQuiller-Couch,TheArtofWriting,pp.103-106.

Certainly.Usedindiscriminatelybysomespeakers,muchasothersusevery,tointen-sifyanyandeverystatement.Amannerismofthiskind,badinspeech,iseven

worseinwriting.

Character.Oftensimplyredundant,usedfromamerehabitofwordiness.

Hostileacts

37

effects;”“broadeffects;”“subtleeffects;”“acharmingeffectwasproducedby.”Thewriterwhohasadefinitemeaningtoexpresswillnottakerefugeinsuchvagueness.

Etc.Nottobeusedofpersons.Equivalenttoandtherest,andsoforth,andhence

nottobeusedifoneofthesewouldbeinsufficient,thatis,ifthereaderwould

beleftindoubtastoanyimportantparticulars.Leastopentoobjectionwhenitrepresentsthelasttermsofalistalreadygiveninfull,orimmaterialwordsattheendofaquotation.

Attheendofalistintroducedbysuchas,forexample,oranysimilarexpression,etc.isincorrect.

Fact.Usethiswordonlyofmattersofakindcapableofdirectverification,notof

mattersofjudgment.Thataparticulareventhappenedonagivendate,thatleadmeltsatacertaintemperature,arefacts.ButsuchconclusionsasthatNapoleonwasthegreatestofmoderngenerals,orthattheclimateofCaliforniaisdelight-ful,howeverincontestabletheymaybe,arenotproperlyfacts.Ontheformulathefactthat,seeunderRule13.

Factor.Ahackneyedword;theexpressionsofwhichitformspartcanusuallybere-placedbysomethingmoredirectandidiomatic.

Hewonthematchbybeingbet-tertrained.

Heavyartilleryisbecominganincreasinglyimportantfactorindecidingbattles.

Feature.Anotherhackneyedword;likefactoritusuallyaddsnothingtothesentence

inwhichitoccurs.

(BetterusethesamenumberofwordstotellwhatMissA.sang,oriftheprogrammehasalreadybeengiven,totellsomethingofhowshesang.)

38CHAPTERV.WORDSANDEXPRESSIONSCOMMONLYMISUSED

Heisamanwho.Acommontypeofredundantexpression;seeRule13.

Heisveryambitious.

SpainisacountrywhichIhavealwayswantedtovisit.

However.Inthemeaningnevertheless,nottocomefirstinitssentenceorclause.

Theroadswerealmostimpass-able.Atlast,however,wesuc-ceededinreachingcamp.

Howeveryouadvisehim,hewillprobablydoashethinksbest.

Kindof.Nottobeusedasasubstituteforrather(beforeadjectivesandverbs),or

exceptinfamiliarstyle,forsomethinglike(beforenouns).Restrictittoitsliteral

sense:“Amberisakindoffossilresin;”“Idislikethatkindofnotoriety.”Thesameholdstrueofsortof.Less.Shouldnotbemisusedforfewer.

Hehadfewermenthaninthepreviouscampaign.

Mr.B.alsospokealongthesamelines.

39

HeisstudyingalongthelineofFrenchliterature.

Literal,literally.Oftenincorrectlyusedinsupportofexaggerationorviolentmetaphor.

Afloodofabuse

Literallydeadwithfatigue

Loseout.Meanttobemoreemphaticthanlose,butactuallylessso,becauseofits

commonness.Thesameholdstrueoftryout,winout,signup,registerup.Withanumberofverbs,outandupformidiomaticcombinations:findout,runout,turnout,cheerup,dryup,makeup,andothers,eachdistinguishableinmeaningfromthesimpleverb.Loseoutisnot.Most.Nottobeusedforalmost.

Almosteverybody

Mostallthetime

Nature.Oftensimplyredundant,usedlikecharacter.

Oftenvaguelyusedinsuchexpressionsas“aloverofnature;”“poemsaboutnature.”Unlessmorespecificstatementsfollow,thereadercannottellwhetherthepoemshavetodowithnaturalscenery,rurallife,thesunset,theuntrackedwilderness,orthehabitsofsquirrels.

Nearby.Adverbialphrase,notyetfullyacceptedasgoodEnglish,thoughtheanalogy

ofclosebyandhardbyseemstojustifyit.Near,ornearathand,isasgood,if

notbetter.

Nottobeusedasanadjective;useneighboring.

Oftentimes,ofttimes.Archaicforms,nolongeringooduse.Themodernwordis

often.

Onehundredandone.Retaintheandinthisandsimilarexpressions,inaccordance

withtheunvaryingusageofEnglishprosefromOldEnglishtimes.Oneofthemost.Avoidbeginningessaysorparagraphswiththisformula,as,“One

ofthemostinterestingdevelopmentsofmodernscienceis,etc.;”“Switzerlandis

40CHAPTERV.WORDSANDEXPRESSIONSCOMMONLYMISUSED

oneofthemostinterestingcountriesofEurope.”Thereisnothingwronginthis;itissimplythreadbareandforcible-feeble.

People.Thepeopleisapoliticalterm,nottobeconfusedwiththepublic.Fromthe

peoplecomespoliticalsupportoropposition;fromthepubliccomesartisticap-preciationorcommercialpatronage.

Thewordpeopleisnottobeusedwithwordsofnumber,inplaceofpersons.Ifof“sixpeople”fivewentaway,howmany“people”wouldbeleft?

Phase.Meansastageoftransitionordevelopment:“thephasesofthemoon;”“the

lastphase.”Nottobeusedforaspectortopic.

Anotherpointotherquestion)

(an-

Hepossessedgreatcourage.

Heowned

Worksoffictionarelistedun-derthenamesoftheirrespec-tiveauthors.

TheonemileandtwomilerunswerewonbyJonesandbyCummings.

41

State.Nottobeusedasameresubstituteforsay,remark.Restrictittothesenseof

expressfullyorclearly,as,“Herefusedtostatehisobjections.”Studentbody.Aneedlessandawkwardexpression,meaningnomorethanthesimple

wordstudents.

Astudent

Popularwiththestudentbody

Thestudentspassedreso-lutions.

Daytonhasadoptedthecom-missionsystemofgovernment.

Dormitories

42CHAPTERV.WORDSANDEXPRESSIONSCOMMONLYMISUSED

Thisisentirelycorrect,asshownbytheparaphrase,

Theofficeandsalesroomsareonthegroundfloor;therestofthebuildingisdevotedtoman-ufacturing.

WhileIadmirehisenergy,Iwishitwereemployedinabettercause.

Iadmirehisenergy;atthesametimeIwishitwereem-ployedinabettercause.

Whilethetemperaturereaches90or95degreesinthedaytime,thenightsareoftenchilly.Theparaphrase,

showswhytheuseofwhileisincorrect.

Ingeneral,thewriterwilldowelltousewhileonlywithstrictliteralness,inthesenseofduringthetimethat.

Whom.Oftenincorrectlyusedforwhobeforehesaidorsimilarexpressions,whenit

isreallythesubjectofafollowingverb.

Hisbrother,whohesaidwouldsendhimthemoney

Themanwhomhethoughtwashisfriend

43

Worthwhile.Overworkedasatermofvagueapprovaland(withnot)ofdisapproval.

Strictlyapplicableonlytoactions:“Isitworthwhiletotelegraph?”

Hisbooksarenotworthread-ing(notworthone’swhiletoread;donotrepayreading).

Ishouldnothavesucceededwithouthishelp.

Hepredictedthatbeforelongweshouldhaveagreatsurprise.

Onceayearhewouldvisittheoldmansion.

44CHAPTERV.WORDSANDEXPRESSIONSCOMMONLYMISUSED

ChapterVI

WORDS

OFTENMISSPELLED

accidentallyadviceaffectbeginningbelievebenefitchallengecriticizedeceivedefinitedescribedespisedevelopdisappointduelecstasyeffectexistencefiery

formerlyhumoroushypocrisyimmediatelyincidentallylatterledlosemarriagemischiefmurmurnecessaryoccurredparallelPhilipplaywrightprecedingprejudiceprincipal

privilegepursuerepetitionrhymerhythmridiculoussacrilegiousseizeseparateshepherdsiegesimilarsimiletootragedytries

undoubtedlyuntil

Writeto-day,to-night,to-morrow(butnottogether)withhyphen.

Writeanyone,everyone,someone,sometime(exceptthesenseofformerly)astwowords.

THEEND

45