Weekly Reading Assignments
Please read Strunk and White pp. 9-10, Elementary rules 1 and 2. As a warning, rule 2 involves the Oxford comma. People have differing opinions as to whether or not one should use it.
Also read: "Lack of Oxford Comma Could Cost Maine Company Millions in Overtime Dispute" by Daniel Victor, The New York Times, March 16, 2017.
Be ready to discuss the Oxford comma and the article in class.
Read pages 61-65 from chapter 5 of the Diaconis and Graham book.
Reading Assignment 2 (due Monday, January 27, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White Elementary rule 3.
Reading Assignment 3 (due Monday, February 3, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White Elementary rules 4 and 5.
Reading Assignment 4
(due Monday, February 10, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White Elementary rules 6, 7 and 8.
Reading Assignment 5
(due Monday, February 17, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White Elementary rule 9.
Reading Assignment 6
(due Monday, February 24, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White Elementary rules 10 and 11.
Reading Assignment 7
(due Monday, March 3, 2025)
We are in chapter 2!
Please read Strunk and White Elementary rules 12 (Choose a suitable design...) and 13 (Make the paragraph the unit of composition).
Then read please read Strunk and White Elementary rules 14 (Use active voice) and 15 (Put statements in positive form).
Finally, read Strunk and White Elementary rule 16 (Use definite, specific, concrete language.).
Phew
Reading Assignment 8
(due Monday, March 10, 2025)
The rest of chapter 2!
Please read Strunk and White Elementary rules 17 (The famouse ``Omit needless words.''), 18 (Avoid a succession of loose sentences) and 19 (Express coordinate ideas in similar form.)
Then please read Strunk and White Elementary rules 20 (Keep related words together), 21 (In summaries, keep to one tense) and 22 (Place emphatic words of a sentence at the end).
Reading Assignment 9
(due Monday, March 24, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White pp. 39-42, A Few Matters of Form. This is Chapter 3.
Reading Assignment 10
(due Monday, March 31, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White Chapter 4, Words and Expressions Commonly Misused, These are the A through L ones, including: Aggravate vs. irritate, all right, allude vs. elude, allusion vs. illusion, alternate vs. alternative, ..., literal vs. literally, and loan vs. lend. This is a very useful chapter!
Reading Assignment 11
(due Monday, April 7, 2025)
Continue to read Strunk and White Chapter 4, Words and Expressions Commonly Misused, These are the M through Z ones, including: meaningful, memento vs. momento, most vs. almost, ..., use of the word would.
Reading Assignment 12
(due Monday, April 14, 2025)
Please read Strunk and White Chapter 5, An Approach to Style. This is the last chapter!