The book came out the year I graduated from college. I spent the next year reading and trying how to learn to write better. I read Strunk & White. When. I went to college the following year, the first paper. I submitted in my English composition class was returned without a grade. When I asked why, the teacher told me he doubted I had written it. “No freshman can write that well.” That particular teacher quit mid-semester. His successor, Bill Lynch, was one if the best teachers I ever had.
I think that Strunk & White teaches clarity, simplicity, and euphony. There are plenty of examples these days on the internet of writers who just go on. That us not to my taste — and not very helpful if you write for a newspaper, as I did.
That teacher doubting you’d written well - thank heavens someone with such low expectations retired. A student needs to believe a teacher expects great things.
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