Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace

A few quick thoughts:This is truly my favorite style guide--much better than Strunk and White or certainly the more meditative texts like Fish's How to Write a Sentence. It offers ten standalone lessons, most of them immediately useful to new writers, presented in a direct manner with useful examples. The chapter on Clarity is a tremendous value in itself. If a businessperson or student asked me for a book that hit every mark (useful, short, easy to approach, with useful examples, and written by a real authority in the field), this would be my recommendation every time.**A student entering college should read this in the summer before taking out a single cent in student loans. Graduate students and professional writers still struggle with the concepts inside this book.

It's a very eye-opening book. I used to think that to write well meant to muddy the waters to make them appear deep (a la Nietzsche). I'm on the 4th lesson (of 10), and there are certain things that I wish were added to the book.First, it sometimes skims over very important material. It presented a very complex topic (metadiscourse) in 1 1/2 pages, then gave 10 difficult examples to work through. Unsure of my answers, I check the back for suggested answers, but the book only provides suggested answers for odd-numbered questions (1,3,5) of each exercise. I assume that this is to promote independence, but this does more harm than good, as I have no real idea if I've answered correctly, if I've understood the concept, or if I'm improving in my writing abilities.Second, there is some disconnect between the material and the exercises, so it would be great if the book would provide more time on an example, or multiple examples, to make sure that I can do the following questions independently.I do look forward to finishing the exercises and the book but there are some factors on the side of the author that have slowed my progress more than it should have. Get the book if you want to improve, but make sure you have a working knowledge of the terminology.

Buch in Ordnung obwohl es gebraucht ist. Kam rechtzeitig an. Dient als Vorlage bzw. Referenzwerk. Ich bin zufrieden. Danke Schön

Williams helpfully surveys the "rules" of English, but also provides insight into the WHYs of following and of bending them. I have studied only the portions relevant to non-fiction writing, but have been most pleased with the organic feel Williams provides for understanding why and how to make choices in the structuring of sentences and paragraphs. This volume goes so far beyond grammar rule books - although it also conveys most effectively the rules of English.I especially enjoyed the late chapters on matters such as "shape" and "elegance." I had not expected such poetic sensitivity from a linguist (forgive my chauvinism). Williams reveals the principles behind why some structure- and word-choices enliven a message... and some cripple it.Williams takes a lot of the mystery out of writing - and a lot of the struggle.

If you learned basic writing from Strunk and White's "Elements of Style," you'll like William's "Style." It's geared toward academic writing but is useful for anyone who wants to go beyond simple grammar and usage rules. The focus of the book is word choice and paragraph coherence and cohesion. It teaches through example, awareness building, and exercises built around sample sentences and paragraphs. The book teaches at a level that assumes at least high school level reading and writing skills. In other words, it's not an easy book, but it is a well written one and one that rewards the effort it asks. I have a Ph.D. in Text Theory and have been writing professionally for more than twenty years, and I picked up a couple of tips.