The Elements of Style

Building Modern Writing on a Classic Foundation

For many writers, a well-worn copy of The Elements of Style represents a timeless philosophy of communication, while a modern reference like the MLA Handbook or The Chicago Manual of Style constitutes a dense, prescriptive tome of rules. This apparent conflict frames a common tension: the elegant principles of Strunk’s “little book” seem at odds with the procedural demands of contemporary style guides.

This essay argues, however, that these guides are not in opposition but form a necessary partnership. Strunk’s work provides the foundational principles of clarity and strength, upon which the complex, standardized structures of modern manuals are built. Rather than a conflict between philosophy and procedure, this relationship represents a complementary system that produces powerful, credible, and effective scholarly writing.

The Enduring Foundation of The Elements of Style

Strunk’s work functions as the conceptual foundation for strong prose (Strunk 23). Its primary contribution is not a set of formatting rules but a philosophy of communication centred on respecting the reader. Its power derives from three core principles:

1. Clarity (“Omit needless words.”): Strunk’s most famous decree forces the writer to value the reader’s time by ensuring every word justifies its existence. It is the practice of removing superfluous language to reveal the core of an argument.
2. Strength (“Use the active voice.”): The active voice is direct, vigorous, and confident. It places the agent of an action at the forefront, creating momentum and making prose more engaging. The assertion “I made a mistake” is stronger than the passive construction “a mistake was made.”
3. Honesty (“Use definite, specific, concrete language.”): Vague statements are an obstacle to effective communication. Strunk advocates for tangible details over abstract generalizations. For instance, “it rained every day for a week” is superior to “a period of unfavourable weather set in.”

These principles are not arbitrary; they are human-centred, recognising that a reader’s attention is a finite resource. By writing with clarity, strength, and honesty, a writer extends a professional courtesy to their audience. This foundation, however, is designed to support a larger structure.

The Architectural Role of Modern Style Guides

If Strunk provides the strong sentences—the bricks and mortar—then modern style guides like MLA and Chicago provide the architectural blueprint for the entire document. They address the complex needs of formal communication that Strunk’s concise manual never intended to cover. While Strunk perfects the sentence, modern manuals perfect the document, creating a standardized, credible, and easily navigated final product.

Guides like the MLA Handbook (MLA) and The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Manual) focus on three areas Strunk largely ignores:

• Standardization: They ensure that every article in a journal or paper in a course follows the same rules for headings, margins, and presentation. This consistency lends a professional quality to the work and simplifies navigation for readers.
• Credibility: In an era of information saturation, correct citation is the primary mechanism that separates credible argument from unsubstantiated opinion. Proper citation serves as proof of research and a defence against accusations of plagiarism.
• Comprehensive Formatting: Modern documents incorporate elements Strunk never anticipated, from complex tables and figures to citations for digital sources. Style guides provide the necessary rules to present this information clearly and consistently.

Strunk helps construct a clear sentence; a style guide dictates how that sentence should appear on the page and how to prove the origin of its ideas.

A Practical Application

Consider the process of revising a sentence about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. A typical first draft might be passive, wordy, and convoluted:

Draft: It is the opinion of this writer that the character of Daisy Buchanan is fundamentally a representation of the destructive carelessness that was a feature of the wealthy elite in that particular era.

This 33-word sentence lacks force and clarity.

Step 1: Apply Strunk’s Principles (The Foundation)

First, Strunk’s philosophy is applied to strengthen the prose.

• Omit needless words: Phrases like “It is the opinion of this writer” and “fundamentally a representation of” are excised.

  Revision 1: Daisy Buchanan’s character represents the destructive carelessness of the wealthy elite in that era.

• Use the active voice: The verb “represents” can be made more active by positioning Daisy as the agent.

  Revision 2: Daisy Buchanan embodies the destructive carelessness of the era’s wealthy elite.

• Use definite, specific language: The sentence is improved, but “embodies” can be made more concrete.

  Final Strunk-Approved Sentence: Daisy Buchanan personifies the destructive carelessness of the 1920s’ wealthy elite.

At 10 words, this revised sentence is lean, direct, and powerful. It delivers a clear point with confidence. Here, Strunk’s role concludes.

Step 2: Apply a Modern Guide (The Blueprint)

Next, this sentence must be integrated into a credible academic document using MLA style. The manual requires an in-text citation and a corresponding entry in the “Works Cited” list.

• MLA In-Text Citation:

  Daisy Buchanan personifies the destructive carelessness of the 1920s’ wealthy elite (Fitzgerald 98).

• MLA Works Cited Entry:

  Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925.

Strunk built the brick; MLA dictates its placement in the wall and provides the reference to its source. The two systems are not in conflict; they perform different, complementary tasks. One creates clarity, while the other builds credibility.

Updating Strunk for the Digital Age

While Strunk’s philosophy is timeless, its application must be adapted to contemporary media like email, instant messaging, and web content. In these contexts, its principles become even more critical.

• For Emails and Slack: “Omit needless words” is the golden rule. Colleagues are inundated with notifications; a concise message is a professional courtesy.
• For Web Content: “Use definite, specific, concrete language” is essential for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and user engagement. Vague prose is often ignored by both algorithms and human readers.
• For Social Media: Brevity, active voice, and strong language are the currency of platforms where attention is measured in seconds.

The medium changes, but the principles of effective communication remain. Strunk’s advice is fundamentally a lesson in respecting the reader, a concept of increasing importance in the digital landscape.

A Complete Writer’s Toolkit

Effective writers should cease to view style as a choice between Strunk versus Chicago or MLA. The formula for success is Strunk + A Modern Style Guide.

The process begins with the little book: mastering its philosophy of clarity and strength to write clean, honest, and powerful sentences. Once that unshakeable foundation is built, applying the rules of a modern style manual becomes a straightforward exercise in formatting rather than a battle against one’s own prose. This integrated approach allows a writer to become a true architect of ideas, building arguments that are not only elegant and clear, but also structurally sound, credible, and built to last.

This article was developed through an iterative collaboration between our Editor-in-Chief and multiple AI language models. Various LLMs contributed at different stages—from initial ideation and drafting to refinement and technical review. Each AI served as a creative and analytical partner, while human editors maintained final oversight, ensuring accuracy, quality, and alignment with AuthZ's editorial standards.