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The Elements of Style Flashcards

William Strunk Jr. · Public domain edition · 32 cards · 8 chapters

William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style argues that clear writing depends on mastering a small set of rules for usage, composition, and punctuation, and that style follows plain English. This deck covers those rules, the book's stated purpose and scope, and its supplementary sections.

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Chapter 1 · Question

What is the stated purpose and origin of The Elements of Style?

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Introduction4 cards

  1. What is the stated purpose and origin of The Elements of Style?

    The book is a short English style guide by William Strunk Jr., Professor of English in Cornell University, published by Harcourt, Brace and Company with copyrights dated 1918, 1919, and 1920. It is organized into sections: introductory, elementary rules of usage, elementary principles of composition, a few matters of form, commonly misused words and expressions, spelling, and exercises.

    Chapter 1

  2. How many elementary rules of usage does the book list, and what is the first?

    The contents list seven elementary rules of usage, numbered 1 through 7. Rule 1 directs the writer to form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's. The remaining rules concern commas in series and before conjunctions, parenthetic expressions, joining independent clauses, breaking sentences in two, and participial phrases referring to the grammatical subject.

    Chapter 1

  3. How many elementary principles of composition are listed, and what topics do they cover?

    The contents list eleven principles, numbered 8 through 18. They cover making the paragraph the unit of composition, beginning with a topic sentence, using the active voice, positive form, definite and concrete language, omitting needless words, avoiding loose sentences, parallel form, keeping related words together, one tense in summaries, and placing emphatic words at the end.

    Chapter 1

  4. What supplementary sections follow the rules and principles in the book?

    After the elementary rules of usage and the elementary principles of composition, the book includes A Few Matters of Form, Words and Expressions Commonly Misused, Spelling, and Exercises on Chapters II and III. The exercises apply specifically to the rules of usage and the principles of composition, not to the later sections.

    Chapter 1

I. INTRODUCTORY4 cards

  1. What does Strunk say the book aims to provide, and how does it limit its scope?

    The book aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style, concentrating on the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. It deliberately covers only a small portion of the field of English style, offering only those principles of widest application, on the belief that beyond the essentials students profit most from individual instruction based on their own work.

    Chapter 2

  2. How many punctuation rules does Strunk lay down, and why so few?

    Strunk lays down three rules for the use of the comma instead of a score or more, and one rule for the semicolon. He does so in the belief that these four rules provide for all the internal punctuation required by nineteen sentences out of twenty.

    Chapter 2

  3. According to Strunk, what should a writer do when the best writers disregard the rules of rhetoric?

    Strunk notes it is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric. When they do, the reader will usually find some compensating merit in the sentence, attained at the cost of the violation. Unless the writer is certain of doing as well, he will probably do best to follow the rules.

    Chapter 2

  4. What does Strunk say students should do after mastering plain English, and where should they look for style?

    Strunk says that after a student has learned, by the rules' guidance, to write plain English adequate for everyday uses, he should then look, for the secrets of style, to the study of the masters of literature. The rules are a foundation, not the final destination.

    Chapter 2

II. ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE4 cards

  1. According to Rule 1, how is the possessive singular of a noun formed, and what exceptions exist?

    Add 's to a singular noun regardless of its final consonant (Charles's friend, Burns's poems). Exceptions include ancient proper names ending in -es or -is, the possessive Jesus', and forms like for conscience' sake. Such phrases as Achilles' heel are commonly replaced by the heel of Achilles. The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself take no apostrophe.

    Chapter 3

  2. In a series of three or more terms with one conjunction, where does the comma go?

    Use a comma after each term except the last: red, white, and blue; gold, silver, or copper. The author notes this matches the usage of the Government Printing Office and Oxford University Press. In the names of business firms, however, the final comma is omitted, as in Brown, Shipley & Co.

    Chapter 3

  3. When is a relative clause set off by commas, and when is it not?

    A non-restrictive relative clause, which does not identify the antecedent, is parenthetic and enclosed in commas: The audience, which had at first been indifferent, became more and more interested. A restrictive clause, which does identify the antecedent, takes no commas: The candidate who best meets these requirements will obtain the place. The author notes the first sentence can split into two independent statements; the second cannot.

    Chapter 3

  4. What rule governs a participial phrase at the start of a sentence?

    A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject. In 'Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman,' walking refers to he, not the woman. The same rule covers introductory phrases with conjunctions or prepositions, nouns in apposition, adjectives, and adjective phrases. Violations are often ludicrous, as in 'Wondering irresolutely what to do next, the clock struck twelve.'

    Chapter 3

III. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION4 cards

  1. According to Strunk, what is the object of making each topic its own paragraph?

    The object is to aid the reader: the beginning of each paragraph signals that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached. Strunk notes the extent of subdivision varies with the length of the composition, giving examples such as a seven-paragraph report on a poem or a novel discussed under setting, plot, characters, and purpose.

    Chapter 4

  2. What three-part structure does Strunk recommend for the most generally useful paragraph?

    Strunk recommends that (a) the topic sentence come at or near the beginning; (b) succeeding sentences explain, establish, or develop the topic sentence's statement; and (c) the final sentence emphasize the topic sentence's thought or state an important consequence. He particularly warns against ending with a digression or an unimportant detail.

    Chapter 4

  3. When does Strunk say the passive voice is acceptable?

    Strunk says the rule does not mean discarding the passive, which is frequently convenient and sometimes necessary. Which voice to use is often determined by the need to make a particular word the subject of the sentence. He also advises avoiding one passive depending directly on another, and warns against making a noun expressing the entire action the subject of a passive construction.

    Chapter 4

  4. Why does Strunk advise putting statements in positive form?

    Strunk argues the reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not and wishes to be told what is, so even a negative is often better expressed positively, as in 'forgot' for 'did not remember.' He adds that antithesis of negative and positive is strong, and that negative words other than not are usually strong.

    Chapter 4

IV. A FEW MATTERS OF FORM4 cards

  1. How does Strunk say a parenthetical expression affects punctuation of the surrounding sentence?

    The sentence is punctuated outside the parentheses exactly as if the parenthetical expression were absent; the expression inside is punctuated as if it stood alone, except its final stop is omitted unless it is a question mark or exclamation point. A wholly detached parenthesized sentence keeps its final stop before the closing mark.

    Chapter 5

  2. According to Strunk, when are quotations enclosed in quotation marks and how are they introduced?

    Formal quotations cited as documentary evidence take a colon and quotation marks. Quotations in apposition or as direct objects of verbs take a comma and quotation marks. Verse of a full line or more starts on a fresh centered line without quotation marks. Quotations introduced by 'that' are indirect discourse and unmarked; proverbs, familiar literary phrases, colloquialisms, and slang need no marks.

    Chapter 5

  3. What does Strunk recommend for abbreviating and placing scholarly references?

    In scholarly work requiring exact references, abbreviate frequently occurring titles and give full forms in an alphabetical list at the end. Generally place references in parentheses or footnotes, not in the body of the sentence. Omit words like act, scene, line, book, volume, and page except when referring by only one of them.

    Chapter 5

  4. What principles does Strunk give for dividing a word at the end of a line?

    Divide only if room exists for one or more syllables but not the whole word, and never cut off a single letter or only two letters of a long word. Divide by formation (know-ledge), on the vowel (edi-ble), between double letters unless they end the simple form (Cincin-nati but tell-ing), and not before final silent -ed (treat-ed, not nam-ed). No hard rule covers all words.

    Chapter 5

V. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED4 cards

  1. According to the chapter, when is 'compare to' used versus 'compare with'?

    The chapter states that to compare to points out or implies resemblances between objects regarded as essentially of different order, while to compare with mainly points out differences between objects regarded as essentially of the same order. Examples given: life compared to a pilgrimage or a battle; Congress compared with the British Parliament; Paris compared to ancient Athens, compared with modern London.

    Chapter 6

  2. What distinction does the chapter draw between 'less' and 'fewer'?

    The chapter says less should not be misused for fewer. Less refers to quantity, fewer to number. 'His troubles are less than mine' means they are not so great; 'fewer than mine' means not so numerous. It notes an exception: 'The signers of the petition were less than a hundred' is correct, since the round number acts like a collective noun and less suggests amount.

    Chapter 6

  3. How does the chapter distinguish 'fact' from matters of judgment?

    The chapter says fact should be used only of matters capable of direct verification, not of matters of judgment. That an event happened on a given date, or that lead melts at a certain temperature, are facts. But conclusions such as that Napoleon was the greatest modern general, or that California's climate is delightful, are not properly facts, however incontestable they may seem.

    Chapter 6

  4. What does the chapter say about 'however' when it means 'nevertheless'?

    The chapter says however, in the meaning nevertheless, should not come first in its sentence or clause. When however comes first, it means 'in whatever way' or 'to whatever extent.' So 'The roads were almost impassable. At last, however, we succeeded' is correct, while 'However, we at last succeeded' is not. Examples of the first-position sense include 'However you advise him, he will probably do as he thinks best.'

    Chapter 6

VI. SPELLING4 cards

  1. According to the chapter, what determines the spelling of English words?

    The chapter states that English spelling is not fixed and invariable, and depends on no authority other than general agreement. At present there is practically unanimous agreement on most words; only a small number may be spelled more than one way at any moment. Gradually one form is generally preferred and the other is discarded, while new simplifications introduced by innovators either win their place or die of neglect.

    Chapter 7

  2. Why does the chapter object to unaccepted, over-simplified spellings?

    The author argues that unaccepted and over-simplified spellings meet disfavor from the reader. They distract the reader's attention and exhaust his patience: he reads though automatically, but on seeing tho he mentally supplies the missing letters at the cost of a fraction of his attention. The writer therefore defeats his own purpose by using them.

    Chapter 7

  3. What doubling rule does the chapter give for -ed and -ing, and what exception?

    The chapter notes that a single consonant other than v, preceded by a stressed short vowel, is doubled before -ed and -ing, as in planned, letting, and beginning. It identifies coming as an exception to this rule. The rule concerns consonant doubling, not the spelling of every word in the misspelled-words list.

    Chapter 7

  4. Which compound words does the chapter say to write with a hyphen, and which as two words?

    The chapter directs writers to write to-day, to-night, and to-morrow with a hyphen, but not together. It also says to write any one, every one, some one, and some time as two words, except some time in the sense of formerly. These are specific prescriptions rather than general rules derived from the doubling or spelling patterns.

    Chapter 7

VII. EXERCISES ON CHAPTERS II AND III4 cards

  1. In Exercise I.1, what punctuation is needed between the King's warning and his summoning the States-General?

    A semicolon or period is needed after "bankruptcy," since "therefore" joins two independent clauses; the exercise tests punctuating long historical sentences with commas around however and around the relative clause "who did not realize the gravity of the situation." The passage also requires commas separating the series "burdensome taxation, oppressive social injustice, and acute scarcity of food."

    Chapter 8

  2. In Exercise II.3, what difference in meaning does the 1800 comma after "fiends" create?

    The 1798 version, "From the fiends that plague thee thus," uses a restrictive clause identifying which fiends. The 1800 version, "From the fiends, that plague thee thus,"-- adds a comma making the clause non-restrictive or parenthetical, so the phrase reads as descriptive comment rather than identification. The exercise asks students to explain this shift in meaning caused by punctuation alone.

    Chapter 8

  3. In Exercise III.4, why is the comma after "Freshmen" an error?

    The clause "who in the opinion of the Department are not qualified for military drill" is restrictive: it identifies which freshmen the course is intended for, not all freshmen. A restrictive clause takes no comma. Removing the comma corrects the sentence, since the comma wrongly implies the clause is merely parenthetical and that all freshmen are meant.

    Chapter 8

  4. In Exercise IV.9, what is the dangling modifier in "During childhood his mother had died"?

    The introductory phrase "During childhood" is meant to modify "he," but the sentence's subject is "his mother," so the phrase attaches to her instead. The correction supplies the right subject, e.g., "During his childhood his mother had died" or "He lost his mother during childhood." The exercise illustrates faults of reference and arrangement rather than punctuation.

    Chapter 8

Source and licence

Text used: Project Gutenberg eBook #37134 (Public domain in the United States). Generated from the full text; cards paraphrase the source.

Version: Public domain edition. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Cards reviewed 2026-10-18.

These cards paraphrase the text for study. They are not a substitute for reading the book, and they do not reproduce long passages.

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