Elements of Style VS Chicago Manual of Style

ALG71 · Sep 18, 2007

Hi everyone, I've seen both The Elements of Style and the Chicago Manual of Style mentioned on the site before but when I tried searches for posts or threads of either book, nothing came up.

I know CMoS has sections for Epublishing, publishers/editors, copywriters, and style/grammer. But I'm not really looking for most of that stuff right now.

What I want to know is, does the Elements of Style have all of the grammer and style info that CMoS has? Passive/Action verbs, grammer and punctuation rules, sentence structures--basically all of the stuff from High School english class? Are there any other books besides these 2 mentioned that have the same reference material?

I've been out of school for a long time and I need to get some kind of reference book but I don't really need all of the other stuff that CMoS has at the moment.

Thanks for any help you all can give.

Birol · Sep 18, 2007

The Elements of Style and the The Chicago Manual of Style have two different focuses. The Elements of Style concentrates on general principles of good writing. The Chicago Manual of Style gives the guidelines for one acceptable way of formatting a manuscript or document and specific elements within the manuscript or document.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 18, 2007

Elements

The Elements of Style is really for writers, while Chicago is primarily aimed at publishers.

My real problem with Chicago is that recent editions have become so wishy-washy in many areas that trying to understand teh right and wrong of something is nearly impossible.

I think every writer should have a copy of The Elements of Style handy at all times, but I still maintain the best grammar book for someone really out of practice is whatever book your local jr. high school uses. It will have everything you need to know, and as important, very little that you don't need to know. It will also be written in an easy to understand style.

Sunnyside · Sep 18, 2007

What Lori said. Elements of Style is exactly that -- a discussion of style, voice, grammar, punctuation and so on, along with good basic advice ("Omit needless words."). It also has the advantage of being cheap!

The CMOS, on the other hand, is all about format, format, format. It's an incredibly useful book for lots of reasons, and worth owning as a writer if only because it shows you how every single section of a book (from the dedication and copyright page all the way through to the index) should look. All good stuff.

ALG71 · Sep 18, 2007

Ahh great. Thank you all. Elements of Style is what I'm looking for then I believe, at least for now.

Will Lavender · Sep 18, 2007

If you're looking for grammar instruction, I actually don't recommend The Elements of Style. I know that's blasphemous, but when I gave it to my students they couldn't engage with it.

Instead, I recommend Patricia T. O'Connor's Woe is I. It's funny, engaging, and you can read it like a traditional book instead of a grammar guide.

A lot of folks prefer Eats Shoots & Leaves if they're looking for a kind of quirky, entertaining grammar primer, but I've heard that the author gets a lot of things wrong in that book. The original reviews I read when it was published (especially in The New Yorker) were not kind, mainly because they claimed the author was confused about certain rules.

C.bronco · Sep 18, 2007

I love The Elements of Style. I get a little misty just thinking about it.
:heart:

Kate Thornton · Sep 18, 2007

I Keep Them Both Upon my Shelf

If I have to choose just one tonight
It's E of S, by Strunk & White
It's got the stuff I really need
If I am smart enough to read

If I have polished up my prose
I'll take a walk through both of those
And linger for a little while
In Chicago's Manual of Style

But just before I send it out
I'll look, with my uncertain doubt
And see if I have got it right
By checking in my Strunk & White

K.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 18, 2007

Will Lavender said:
If you're looking for grammar instruction, I actually don't recommend The Elements of Style. I know that's blasphemous, but when I gave it to my students they couldn't engage with it.

Instead, I recommend Patricia T. O'Connor's Woe is I. It's funny, engaging, and you can read it like a traditional book instead of a grammar guide.

A lot of folks prefer Eats Shoots & Leaves if they're looking for a kind of quirky, entertaining grammar primer, but I've heard that the author gets a lot of things wrong in that book. The original reviews I read when it was published (especially in The New Yorker) were not kind, mainly because they claimed the author was confused about certain rules.

I'm not sure the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves is wrong, but there is a good bit of English English in the book, rather than American English.

Novelhistorian · Sep 18, 2007

Kate Thornton said:
I Keep Them Both Upon my Shelf

If I have to choose just one tonight
It's E of S, by Strunk & White
It's got the stuff I really need
If I am smart enough to read

If I have polished up my prose
I'll take a walk through both of those
And linger for a little while
In Chicago's Manual of Style

But just before I send it out
I'll look, with my uncertain doubt
And see if I have got it right
By checking in my Strunk & White

K.

Brava!

Elements of Style VS Chicago Manual of Style

ALG71

Defanged Hellraiser

Birol

Around and About

Jamesaritchie

Sunnyside

ALG71

Defanged Hellraiser

Will Lavender

Everything is what it seems.

C.bronco

I have plans...

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

Jamesaritchie

Novelhistorian