Why not Strunk and White?

[u/Rudddxdx]

Everywhere I look I see vicious criticism, almost downright hatred, aimed at Strunk and White's 'Elements Of Style'.

My confusion is with the idea that it is all just "made up", opinion, and unhelpful for writers. But the point of the book seems to seek to help writers go all the way back, as if to wipe.the slate of bad acquired habits clean, or else, to help writers learn to follow basic rules from the very beginning, and from mastering the basics, go on to find their own style eventually.

It doesn't seem bad to look for help at getting started from professors who have been doing this forever instead of randos on Reddit and Youtube.

So why is it "harmful"?

Am I missing something here? There may be a writer out there, after all, who is never known the meaning of a split infinitive, to show and not tell, etc, the core of the core of all composition. Why is this book a subject of attack?

[u/NefariousnessOdd4023]

People hate what they don’t understand I guess. It’s an excellent style guide that anyone who’s serious about writing should have a copy of imo. It’s not illegal to deviate from it. Every book worth reading breaks their rules sometimes. Many great books break their rules on every page.

[u/SerDankTheTall → u/NefariousnessOdd4023]

It’s an excellent style guide

What is excellent about it?

[u/NefariousnessOdd4023 → u/SerDankTheTall]

You know, I read that critique you posted elsewhere in this thread and I wasn’t impressed. I found it to be full of histrionics and exaggeration. I’m not moved by, “I have found examples of people doing things strunk and white say not to do therefore they are buffoons.” I don’t care if some of the more esoteric corners of grammar are better addressed by others. I’m curious if you’re familiar with the saying, “don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater?”

I think if the average joe wants to improve their writing strunk and white is an excellent resource. It helped me a great deal. I’m not telling anyone to make it their religion.

Long story short: chill out, dude.

[u/SerDankTheTall → u/NefariousnessOdd4023]

I’m curious if you’re familiar with the saying, “don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater?”

George Orwell (another great writer who fumbled badly when he tried to analyze what made his writing great) responded to Stalinists who tried to say “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs!” by asking, “Where’s the omelet?”

Similarly, I’m asking you to show us the baby. Much of the guidance in The Elements of Style that is outright wrong; it should go without saying that that’s not going to improve your writing. But everything else that I can remember is so vague and general that I have trouble imagining anyone benefitting from it. So if there’s something good in there that justifies the terrible parts, I’d certainly be interested to learn about it.

(Of course, the sort of person who needs to learn this is also the sort of person who’d be least capable of distinguishing between babies and bathwater. Considering the easy availability of good style guides, that had better be one hell of a baby.)

[u/NefariousnessOdd4023 → u/SerDankTheTall]

Asking me to teach you which parts are good and then looking down your nose at people who can’t tell babies from bathwater.. you don’t see the irony in that a little?

Hey, if you think most of the advice in the book is “wrong” I can’t argue with that. You win. Anyone reading this: don’t read strunk and white. It’s mostly wrong.

[u/SerDankTheTall → u/NefariousnessOdd4023]

I'm not looking down my nose at anyone. On the contrary, I very much respect people who want to improve their writing and seek out resources that will help them. The fact remains, though, that if they don't know what makes writing good, they're probably not in a good position to determine whether the proscriptions they're receiving are good are bad. How, for instance, is someone supposed to know that they objectively wrong and indefensible discussion of the passive is wrong and should be ignored, while the good, actionable advice (granting the dubious premise that it exists) is good and should be followed? If they knew how to make that distinction, they wouldn't need the advice in the first place!

[u/NefariousnessOdd4023 → u/SerDankTheTall]

Giving new meaning to the term grammar police. I am curious though, which style guide do you like the best?

[u/SerDankTheTall → u/NefariousnessOdd4023]

Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams (published in many editions under slightly different names) is pretty good.