Strunk and White: First Impressions

The first rule that really jumped out at me was the one about forming the possessive singular with 's. I was interested that they made it clear that it doesn't matter what the last consonant of the word is. While I somewhat knew this to be true, it still always bothers me when I write something that ends in an s but needs to be possessive. It just doesn't seem right to me, so I am glad that it was reinforced in Strunk and White.

The other part that I found interesting was about putting statements in positive form. This is something that I tend to do in my writing, but never really realized I was doing it. I think that the reason that I often write this way is because I read a lot and see it done that way. It was interesting to see why that was is best. The examples, especially the one about The Taming of the Shrew, were very helpful in allowing me to understand the rule.

The fifth chapter was the one I found easiest for me to read. I really liked the tips that it gave, such as "Write in a way that comes naturally." These are the types of things that I love about writing because they are what really makes one person's writing different from another. "Place yourself in the background," was another interesting tip. I have talked to journalists before about how they found their voice, and they said basically what the book says. To focus on getting your language use very fluid and you will find your voice.