Plain Style : A Guide to Written English

by Lasch, Christopher; Weaver, Stewart Angas

• ISBN13: 9780812218145
• ISBN10: 0812218140
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-01
• Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSLVANIA PRESS

Summary

Plain Styleis an amusing and instructive guide to written English by the late Christopher Lasch, author ofThe Culture of Narcissism,The True and Only Heaven, and many other memorable works of American history and social criticism. Written for the benefit of the students at the University of Rochester, where Lasch taught from 1970 until his death in 1994, it quickly established itself in typescript as a local classic--a lively, witty, and historically minded alternative to the famous volume by William Strunk and E. B. White,The Elements of Style. Now available for the first time in published form,Plain Styleis fundamentally a clear, readable, practical guide to the timeless principles of effective composition. At the same time, however, in ways that Stewart Weaver explains in his critical introduction, it is a distinctive and revealing addition to the published work of an eminent American thinker. No mere primer,Plain Styleis an essay in cultural criticism, a political treatise even, by one for whom directness, clarity, and honesty of expression were essential to the living spirit of democracy. As the teachers and students who have for years benefited from its succinct wisdom will testify,Plain Styleis an indispensable guide to writing and, indeed, Christopher Lasch's least-expected but perhaps most serviceable work.

Author Biography

Christopher Lasch (1932-1994) was Professor of History at the University of Rochester. Among his many books are The Culture of Narcissism, The Minimal Self, The True and Only Heaven, and Haven in a Heartless World. Stewart Weaver is Professor of History at the University of Rochester.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Christopher Lasch and the Politics of the Plain Style	1	(42)
Stewart Weaver
A Note on the Text	43	(2)
Elementary Principles of Literary Construction	45	(10)
Conventions Governing Punctuation, Capitalization, Typography, and Footnotes	55	(20)
Characteristics of Bad Writing	75	(18)
Words Often Misused	93	(20)
Words Often Mispronounced	113	(4)
Proofreaders' Masks	117	(2)
Index	119