Monday, February 27, 2012

#3. Reading The Elements of Style - Day 1

For my third seven-day project, I chose to read William Strunk & E. B. White's The Elements of Style.
Stephen King recommends this book in his On Writing.
And it is also very short and concise! I can study three chapters a day and will take only about five to ten minutes to do that. Since I am getting busy with the schoolwork, I think it is not a bad idea to choose a project that is not so time-consuming. :)

I wish I can improve my English a bit this way. :P

You can read the 1999 edition here: http://www.bartleby.com/141/
(Apparently there are many editions since it was first published in1919.. I'm using 2011 Kindle edition.)

For now, I decided to jot down the points I find confusing or notable.


Achilles' heel --> could be replaced by: the heel of Achilles
Moses' laws --> could be replaced by: the laws of Moses

In 1769, when Napoleon was born, Corsica had but recently been acquired by France.
--> includes two statements that could be made independently:
Napoleon was born in 1769. At that time Corsica had but recently been acquired by France.

Nether Stowey, where Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient mariner, is a few miles from Bridgewater.
--> Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner at Nether Stowey. Nether Stowey is only a few miles from Bridgewater.


I tend to make my sentences long and include more than one statement per sentence...
I need more practice (actually, I could try to edit what I just wrote here), but..... well, enough for one day. :)

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