Blasphemy?
Geoffrey K. Pullum takes the long-celebrated Elements of Style behind the wood shed and attempts to kill it. Does he succeed?
It’s sad. Several generations of college students learned their grammar from the uninformed bossiness of Strunk and White, and the result is a nation of educated people who know they feel vaguely anxious and insecure whenever they write “however” or “than me” or “was” or “which,” but can’t tell you why. The land of the free in the grip of The Elements of Style.
I know that insecurity and guilt. I know it well. What seems at first like blasphemy may be a relieved burden.
How about Roy Peter Clark’s 50 Essential Writing Strategies instead? Far more useful than Elements of Style? Intended for journalists, but useful for everyone.