Comparing S&W with Williams

After reading both Strunk and White, and Williams, I find the two to be helpful in much different ways. The style in which they are written almost oppose one another. The main thing that I really liked about Strunk and White was it’s directness. They did not add a lot of fluff to their writing, and it was therefore very clear and easy to understand what they were trying to get across. The layout was also very good for referencing. It was easy to find the section you may be looking for while in the middle of writing a piece. Williams, on the other hand, decided to take a completely different approach. While his book definitely flowed better and read more like an actual book than a reference source, it also had both good and bad points. One negative that I found was that if I were to use it as a reference tool, it takes much longer to sift through and find the area that you are looking for. On the other hand though, he does a great job of explaining what he’s talking about, and gives plenty of examples to back up the intended meaning. He may have given more examples than he actually needed to, however I think that it’s better to have too many, than not enough.

Another difference that I noticed is the time period in which they were written. In class we discussed some of the oddities that we found in Strunk and White simply because much of it was written during a different time in our history. Certain phrases and ideas that may have been typical back then are obviously dated and not as helpful in getting a point across as it once was. Williams, I find, is written more recently and the language he uses is much closer to what we’re used to hearing. This makes it easier to understand certain concepts and ideas.

They both touch on areas that I find difficult to state as correct or incorrect in writing. For example, I talked before about the use of introductory phrases that Strunk and White claim are unnecessary for writing. I find many of them, while not necessary, do not hurt but rather can enhance the writing when used properly. In Williams, where he talks about length, there should be room for interpretation. It’s difficult to say that a sentence should be no longer than this or shorter than that, because writing would be very boring if it were all the exact same length. Short can be too concise, while long can be longwinded or drag on, but as long as the writing is good and the correct transitions are present, then it shouldn’t matter.

Overall, I find that both of these books are great resources for us to use both in and out of the classroom. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but can be very beneficial if used correctly.