Technical and Marketing Communication: Content for a Convergent World

Strunk and White on Trial

In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynee Truss describes the differences of opinion on the use of the serial comma: “There are people who embrace the Oxford comma, and people who don’t, and I’ll just say this, never get between these people when drink has been taken.”[17]

And so it goes, with the differences between prescriptive and descriptive approaches to teaching grammar. For a completely different take of Strunk and White from my view (see original post), check out this scathing article in The Chronicle of Higher Education:

50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice

Here, Geoffrey Pullum calls our beloved grammar sages, “idiosyncratic bumblers.” It takes a lot of guts to call E.B. White (of Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web fame, as well as respected 1950s-era journalist on The New Yorker), a bumbler. I still give Geofrey Pullum credit for the strength of his convictions, and so would William Strunk and E.B. White.

I remain unapologetic, however, for my overall appreciation of Strunk and White. Of course, I also value diagramming sentences to learn the parts of speech, and in studying the etymological roots of words, to build a wider vocabulary. These are old-fashioned things, long fallen out of favor, in academic circles.

Do the basic principles of clear, concise writing really fall out of style? Which approach to teaching grammar would you use, especially in writing for business settings? Would following Strunk and White’s rules of usage in your next resume or cover letter help you get a job?

Anyway, you be the judge, when you read the The Chronicle of Higher Education’s article.

What do you think Strunk and White would say, about the style of writing there?

Note: In her review of Strunk and White, Mignon Fogarty also discusses the classic writing guide’s limitations. I recognize that many of the examples in Strunk and White may seem quirky to us now, but for me, that’s part of the book’s charm (also known as style). I was also surprised that Fogarty (who wrote a similar, and very successful  grammar guide, with more contemporary examples) did not defend Strunk and White a bit more, in her recent post. Curious, as Fogarty endorsed Strunk and White in the many testimonials, at the opening of the Fiftieth Anniversary Edition.

Related Posts:

• 50 Years Later: Elements of Style (and Life) with Strunk & White 
• Never Call a Stomach a Tummy without Good Reason” ~ Takeaways from Strunk and White (2009 Edition)

Photo Credit, Joe Gratz