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Style

An annotated collection of 3 books & essays on style, spanning 1959 to 1985. Featuring works by William Strunk Jr. & E. B. White, William Zinsser, Kurt Vonnegut — each with editorial commentary oriented to digital product practice.

The Elements of Style

William Strunk Jr. & E. B. White, 1959 · Macmillan (originally Harcourt, based on Strunk's 1918 pamphlet)

The most influential short book on English prose. Strunk wrote it as a pamphlet for his Cornell students in 1918; E. B. White revised and expanded it in 1959 and the little book has not stopped being read since. The advi…

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

William Zinsser, 1976 · Harper & Row (30th anniversary edition, HarperCollins, 2006)

Zinsser's book is the most widely read and widely used manual on writing non-fiction in English. The argument is adjacent to Strunk and White's (simplicity, clarity, honesty) but expanded to the specific problems non-fic…

How to Write with Style

Kurt Vonnegut, 1985 · International Paper Company (Power of the Printed Word series)

Vonnegut's seven rules for writing with style — find a subject you care about, do not ramble though, keep it simple, have the guts to cut, sound like yourself, say what you mean to say, pity the readers. The essay is two…