Think of a grammar rule. Any grammar rule. Basic, bizarre, straightforward, convoluted. Whatever. Got it? Okay, then, consider: why do you think this counts as a grammar rule? What gives it credence? Here are the usual reasons: An authority said it, like a high school English teacher or Strunk and White. Good, careful writers always […]
Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is bad for writers. This is an unpopular position, I know. Elements is beloved by literati, authors, English teachers, Supreme Court justices. Its precepts are in our stylebooks, our standardized tests, the air we breathe. People adore this book. I’m blaspheming. I don’t care. It is a bad […]