: Strunk and White vs "Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace" by Williams and Colomb I'd like to improve my writing and have been considering getting either The Elements of Style by Strunk and

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If you cite Elements of Style in a grammar battle with an editor, you win (unless he can counter with Chicago Manual of Style.) The same will not be true of Basics of Clarity and Grace.

However, Basics of Clarity and Grace is a much better book to use as a way to actually LEARN grammar. I find Elements of Style more useful as a reference.

In short, as a reference get Elements of Style (and the Chicago Manual) as a learning tool, get Basics of Clarity and Grace.

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I highly recommend Williams and Colomb's Style. Throughout the book they focus heavily on three ideas:

What do readers expect?
What choices can writers make?
How do the writer's choices affect the reader's expectations?

For example, where other books might admonish not to use passive voice, Style describes the effects of passive voice, and through examples demonstrates where you might want those effects, and where you might not.

I've applied two ideas in particular. First, begin a sentence with familiar information, and place new information at the end. Beginning with familiar information connects with readers and orients them to the topic of the sentence. Once oriented, the reader can make better sense of the new information, and relate it to what has come before. Writing sentences this way increases cohesion and narrative flow.

Second, the end of a clause or sentence or paragraph is the "power position." Readers tend to read the words in those positions with a little extra emphasis. So identify the information that you want the reader to emphasize, and shift that information to the end.

Again, I highly recommend Style. For several years I bought each new edition as it came out, partly to see what new ideas Williams and Colomb offered, but mostly as a refresher.

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The Elements of Style is fundamental and applies to all forms of writing. I'm not familiar with Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, so I'm unable to comment on it.

Since your interest lies with writing in a technical setting, I suggest you also look at some style guides for technical writing. Jean Weber has a fairly comprehensive list of books related to technical writing on her blog, Technical Editors' Eyrie. See her list of Technical editing and style guides.

UPDATE: Based on a couple comments on the original question, I recommend checking out Sin and Syntax if you're disinclined to use The Elements of Style. I read it a year or so back and I've found it more useful than Elements. I keep them side-by-side on my desk, along with The Chicago Manual of Style.

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It's not a "vs" thing. Get them both. Learn from both.

Edit:

I've only read Strunk & White. Planning to read Williams. There's a very simple reason why you would get them both and learn from them both.

The 50th Anniversary Edition of Strunk & White is on Amazon (link).

The 3rd Edition of Williams is on Amazon (link).

Both of them are bestsellers and you can just read the Amazon comments (but also google them to see how many people have been influenced by both).

So obviously, what is contained in both books is widely held as wisdom.

Get them both (if you can afford it). Learn from them both.

Edit (2):

There are already two answers here, one for what Strunk is (technical focus), and what Williams is (people focus). At least, that's my reading of what Dale is saying about Williams.

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