CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Writing Improved by Elements of Style
Writing Improved Elements of Style, Henry van Eykan Recommended
Writing Skills and Tips

0605 -
0605 -    ..
0606 - Summary/Objective
0607 -
060701 - Follow up ref SDS 50 0000, ref SDS 46 0000.
060702 -
060703 - Elements of Style recommended by Henry on Sunday, is an excellent aid
060704 - for improving writing; recommendations align with traditional texts on
060705 - English composition.  Writing in SDS strives to implement these time
060706 - honored standards of style, but, limited time introduces errors, no
060707 - doubt there are many in this paragraph.  It would be helpful to get
060708 - comments from Henry and others on correcting errors, and strengthening
060709 - composition.   Interestingly, rules of composition provide a strong
060710 - base for knowledge, using extended capabilities of SDS. ref SDS 0 K5WL
060711 -
060712 -     [On 001109 notified Henry about follow up on this. ref SDS 53 U68L
060714 -  ..
0608 -
0609 -
0610 - Progress
0611 -
061101 - On 001105 Henry recommended that writing style can be improved to
061102 - enhance understanding of Knowledge Management, ref SDS 50 4F9Y, by
061103 - using...
061105 -                     ..
061106 -                    The Elements of Style
061107 -                    by William Strunk, Jr.
061108 -
061109 -                    THACA, N.Y.: W.P. HUMPHREY, 1918
061110 -                    NEW YORK: BARTLEBY.COM, 1999
061111 -
061113 -  ..
061114 - Found a reference at the following location...
061115 -
061116 -
061117 -                   http://www.bartleby.com/141/
061118 -
061120 -  ..
061121 - The abstract says...
061122 -
061123 -      Asserting that one must first know the rules to break them, this
061124 -      classic reference book is a must-have for any student and
061125 -      conscientious writer. Intended for use in which the practice of
061126 -      composition is combined with the study of literature, it gives in
061127 -      brief space the principal requirements of plain English style and
061128 -      concentrates attention on the rules of usage and principles of
061129 -      composition most commonly violated.
061130 -
061132 -  ..
061133 - An example of ideas is rule 12...
061134 -
061135 -
061136 -      Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating,
061137 -      non-committal language.-Rule 12
061138 -
061140 -  ..
061141 - Introduction
061142 -
061143 -          http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk1.html
061144 -
061145 -     This book... aims to give ...the principal requirements ... rules
061146 -     of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.
061147 -
061148 -     ...experience [shows] ...that once past the essentials, students
061149 -     profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of
061150 -     their own work, and that each instructor has his own body of
061151 -     theory, which he prefers to that offered by any textbook.
061153 -      ..
061154 -     It is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard
061155 -     the rules of rhetoric. When they do so, however, the reader will
061156 -     usually find in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at
061157 -     the cost of the violation. Unless he is certain of doing as well,
061158 -     he will probably do best to follow the rules. After he has
061159 -     learned, by their guidance, to write plain English adequate for
061160 -     everyday uses, let him look, for the secrets of style, to the
061161 -     study of the masters of literature.
061162 -
061163 -
061165 -  ..
061166 - II  Elementary Rules of Usage
061167 -
061168 - Strunk's suggestions below, are covered in "The Shorter Handbook for
061169 - College Composition, by Shaw and Dodge, published by Harper & Row,
061170 - 1965...
061171 -
061172 -    1.  Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's
061174 -         ..
061175 -    2.  In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction,
061176 -        use a comma after each term except the last
061178 -         ..
061179 -        Examples...
061180 -
061181 -           red, white, and blue
061182 -
061183 -           honest, energetic, but headstrong
061184 -
061185 -           He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.
061187 -         ..
061188 -        The abbreviation etc., even if only a single term comes before
061189 -        it, is always preceded by a comma.
061190 -
061192 -         ..
061193 -    3.  Commas, enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
061194 -
061195 -            [On 040924 11 rules on commas. ref SDS 54 AO6I
061197 -         ..
061198 -        Example...
061199 -
061200 -           The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for
061201 -           time, is to travel on foot.
061202 -
061203 -        ...it is frequently hard to decide whether a single word, such
061204 -        as however, or a brief phrase, is parenthetic. If interruption
061205 -        to the flow of the sentence is slight, omit the commas.  But
061206 -        never omit one comma and leave the other.
061208 -         ..
061209 -        Avoid...
061210 -
061211 -           Marjorie's husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday
061212 -
061213 -           My brother you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect
061214 -           health,
061215 -
061217 -         ..
061218 -        Non-restrictive relative clauses are set off by commas.
061220 -         ..
061221 -        Example...
061222 -
061223 -           The audience, which had at first been indifferent, became
061224 -           more and more interested.
061225 -
061227 -         ..
061228 -        Similar clauses introduced by where and when are similarly
061229 -        punctuated.
061231 -         ..
061232 -        Example...
061233 -
061234 -           In 1769, when Napoleon was born, Corsica had but recently
061235 -           been acquired by France.
061236 -
061237 -           Nether Stowey, where Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient
061238 -           Mariner, is a few miles from Bridgewater.
061240 -         ..
061241 -        Which, when, and where are non-restrictive, if they do not
061242 -        limit the application of the words on which they depend, but
061243 -        add, parenthetically, statements supplementing those in the
061244 -        principal clauses, i.e., each sentence is a combination of two
061245 -        statements which might have been made independently.
061247 -         ..
061248 -        Example...
061249 -
061250 -           The audience was at first indifferent. Later it became more
061251 -           and more interested.
061252 -
061253 -           Napoleon was born in 1769. At that time Corsica had but
061254 -           recently been acquired by France.
061256 -            ..
061257 -           Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner at Nether
061258 -           Stowey. Nether Stowey is only a few miles from Bridgewater.
061259 -
061261 -         ..
061262 -        Restrictive relative clauses are not set off by commas.
061264 -         ..
061265 -        Example...
061266 -
061267 -           The candidate who best meets these requirements will obtain
061268 -           the place.
061269 -
061271 -         ..
061272 -        In this sentence the relative clause restricts the application
061273 -        of the word candidate to a single person. Unlike those above,
061274 -        the sentence cannot be split into two independent statements.
061276 -         ..
061277 -        The abbreviations etc. and jr. are always preceded by a comma,
061278 -        and except at the end of a sentence, followed by one.
061280 -         ..
061281 -        Similar in principle to the enclosing of parenthetic
061282 -        expressions between commas is the setting off by commas of
061283 -        phrases or dependent clauses preceding or following the main
061284 -        clause of a sentence. The sentences quoted in this section and
061285 -        under Rules 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, and 18 should afford sufficient
061286 -        guidance.
061288 -         ..
061289 -        Example...
061290 -
061291 -           He saw us coming, and unaware that we had learned of his
061292 -           treachery, greeted us with a smile.
061293 -
061294 -
061296 -  ..
061297 - III  Elementary Principles of Composition - Leverage Creativity
061298 -
061299 - This section explains rules for associating narrative according to
061300 - subjects into paragraphs, and recognizes this is an organic process,
061301 - but does not expressly state this idea.  Paragraphs are recommended
061302 - to associate narrative on sub-elements of subjects, called topics.
061304 -  ..
061305 - SDS rests on this idea, recognizing that every subject exists in a
061306 - context, and can be analysed in components for separate treatment, as
061307 - explained in POIMS. ref OF 1 1110
061309 -  ..
061310 - More broadly, the rules of composition have been worked out over
061311 - thousands of years to enhance meaning, learning and communication by
061312 - using alphabet technology to structure otherwise ephemeral and jumbled
061313 - internal thoughts.  The process of creating an external structure to
061314 - assemble larger ideas from small meanings, which alphabet technology
061315 - advances by an order of magnitude, is the engine of civilization, as
061316 - explained in POIMS. ref OF 1 1299
061318 -  ..
061319 - SDS provides additional rules, structure and tools for using alphabet
061320 - technology, that further augment human thinking by adding intelligence
061321 - to information. per POIMS. ref OF 1 3742
061323 -  ..
061324 - The ability to capture and preserve history, to craft understandings
061325 - of cause and effect, to refine, segment and expand correlations,
061326 - implications and nuance that guide daily conduct and strengthen plans
061327 - for the future, is a highly creative process.
061329 -  ..
061330 - Creativity is reviewed in the record on 890809. ref SDS 2 7433
061332 -  ..
061333 - Yesterday, received notice that Doug Engelbart has been awarded the
061334 - National Medal of Technology for his creativity. ref SDS 51 0001
061335 -
061336 -     [...in another record today, Eric reports creativity is aided by
061337 -     hard work, persistance and analogies. ref SDS 52 0001
061338 -
061339 -     [On 001109 notified Henry of opportunity to move from information
061340 -     culture supported by traditional rules of composition for applying
061341 -     alphabet technology, to a knowledge culture supported by extended
061342 -     rules of SDS. ref SDS 53 CH4M
061343 -
061344 -
061345 -
061346 -
061347 -
061348 -
061349 -
061350 -
061351 -
061352 -
061353 -
061354 -
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061357 -
0614 -