2. The Elements of Style From Strunk and White Used with Permission from Dr. Peter McDermott HIST-461 History and Historians -Adam Erickson

3. Fundamentals Rules of usage: grammar and punctuation Matters of form: thesis, design, composition Avoid common mistakes using words and expressions Avoid clichés like the plague

4. Brevity “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires that the writer make all of his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

5. Possessives, Commas, etc. Singular possessives, write ’s, Plural possessives, write s’ Exceptions: ancient proper names ’, as in Jesus’; pronouns, no ’ It’s=it is. Its=possessive In a series of terms, use a comma after each except the last Use commas for parenthetical expressions

6. Composition Have a plan Use the active voice Make definite assertions you are prepared to support with evidence Be concise. Avoid monotony.

7. Form Use quotation marks for quotations Use exclamation marks for exclamations The ellipsis..., not … The dash--, not - use infrequently Put the comma or the period inside the quotation marks

8. Style and why it matters Avoid conventional devices -- mannerisms, tricks, adornments, pomposity Use plainness, simplicity, orderliness, and sincerity Be patient and alert Do not get in the way of your writing Write with nouns and verbs Revise and rewrite

9. Style Overwriting: “Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.” Overstating: you will lose the confidence of the reader A chatty, spontaneous style may trivialize the subject You must believe in the value of what you write and in the ability of the reader to understand and appreciate it