Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace

There is more to writing than simply obeying a list of rules. In this edition of “Style,” Joseph Williams presents principles of writing in a new format designed to help writers diagnose problems with their prose quickly and revise it effectively. Divided into three parts– “Style as Choice, Clarity, and Grace” –the text includes new principles of effective prose, boxed summaries for quick and easy review, and group exercises that encourage students to work and learn together. Williams encourages writers to use their writing not only as a tool to identify and solve problems but also as a method to explore their own thinking. In particular, writers learn how to use the revision process both to anticipate their readers’ reactions and to understand better their own intended meaning.