QAEnglish › According to The Elements of Style, which answer choice is consistent with Strunk’s rules?
Q

According to The Elements of Style, which answer choice is consistent with Strunk’s rules?

A. Use of passive voice should be discarded.

B. Revise writing to omit needless words.

C. Use of the Oxford comma is not preferred.

D. Write short sentences that contain few details.

A

Answer: B. Revise writing to omit needless words.

In The Elements of Style, one of the many recommendations is the avoidance of needless words. Being able to separate useful words from needless ones is very important in the writing process. Using unnecessary words can promote verbosity which tends to make the message too long and boring. This in turn makes it very difficult for people to follow because the message is already too confusing. The best way to identify unnecessary words is simple by revising the writing once it has been completed.

3 years ago
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