Introduction Reflection to Elements of Style

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During the time that I read the introduction, I felt that E.B. White must have never had a life outside of this analyzing his English 8 professor, William Strunk Jr. Thought he doesn’t say so, it seems as if the author was long-time buddies that went bowling and hung out on the weekends. When the author talks about William, he goes into a lot of detail, like when he tells of the professor repeating sentences three times. It seems that William Strunk Jr. was one of E.B. Whites biggest influences by the tone in which he tells about him. The one thing that really popped out when I read the passage is when the author recollects of the professor teaching to his class “Rule 17 Omit Needless Words”. (E.B. White xiv). It makes sense to not use words uselessly and carelessly, because it’s easier to read something that gets straight to the point. It’s kind of like eating a banana. You have to peel the banana peel off before you get to the fruit. In grammar you have to peel away the needless words to get to what is really necessary in order to get the point across. This book could possibly dangerous for me, in the fact that learning all these rules will make me a “grammar junkie.” It will make every little mistake and every misuse of a punctuation stick out of articles like a green hat with an orange bill. It will drive me crazy. In turn, by the way the introduction speaks of itself, the book is a useful tool when writing. After reading it, I realized that other than textbooks, there is no book that teaches how to use the rules and proper use of grammar when writing. The only way I have ever been taught grammar is examples put on a chalkboard. Now by reading the book I can better understand what I have been taught before. I do believe that, even though the book can be a drag to read straight through, it serves a great purpose and every

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