The Elements of Style, First Edition

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The Elements of Style is a prescriptive American English writing style guide in numerous editions. This original and first edition was composed by William Strunk Jr., in 1918.

In The Elements of Style (1918), William Strunk concentrated on specific questions of usage-and the cultivation of good writing-with the recommendation "Make every word tell"; hence, the 17th principle of composition is the simple instruction: "Omit needless words." The book frames this within a triplet credited to an influential lecturer:

1. Omit needless words 2. Use active voice 3. Use parallel construction on parallel concepts

The Elements of Style was listed as one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923 by Time in its 2011 list. Upon its release Charles Poor writing for The New York Times called it "a splendid trophy for all who are interested in reading and writing." American poet Dorothy Parker once proclaimed, "If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they're happy.