The Elements of Style

I have just finished reading a small book called The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. This book gives advice about writing. It is salutary, concise and funny. Here is a sample from the chapter on misused words:

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Nauseous. Nauseated.
The first means "sickening to contemplate"; the second means "sick at the stomach." Do not, therefore, say, "I feel nauseous," unless you are sure you have that effect on others.

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I wish I'd read this book before going to university. Yet education, if embraced, continues long after the schooling years are over. I have acquired some unhappy habits of writing, mainly during the practice of regular essay composition, for which repetitive phrasing and unimaginative constructions became a near-necessary evil. This little book has alerted me to some of my laziness and confusion.

If you care about the quality of your writing, get this book. Every member of this forum could benefit from understanding the advice it contains; no-one here, no matter how learned he believes himself to be, will be innocent of all the many crimes that Strunk and White describe.

that explains it then, i always wondered why i feel woozy..

thanx mike :smile:

you sure read that thing fast.. you musta took one o them "sped reddin" courses.

Hmm.. I'll check that one out. Thanks for the tip.

Copies going for around ?1/2 and $1/2 on ebay/amazon :smile: purchases