# The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

12 Hacker News commenters recommended The Elements of Style by Strunk and White and 10 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Short, widely loved guide to clear, concise English writing, praised for practical advice in an accessible format. Critics call its prescriptive rules arbitrary and some advice unhelpful.

## Why people recommend it

- Clear, practical, accessible advice (2 comments): "It gives clear, practical advice in a very accessible style and format." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46285176)) "A short and beloved guide" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46282987))
- Better than many modern guides (2 comments): "You can learn a lot more from them, than from what I've seen of this blog." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46827862)) "I think I benefitted more from Strunk and White's advice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46745924))
- Deserves renewed attention today (2 comments): "We can hope that "Elements of Style", or similar, comes back into fashion." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46461324)) "I hope Elements of Style is rediscovered." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46200096))

## What people warn about

- Arbitrary prescriptive rules (2 comments): "promote all sorts of prescriptivist nonsense, taking arbitrary personal preferences and elevating them to sacred rules" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49062245)) "overly prescriptive and frankly unhelpful at turns" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49748544))
- Much advice unhelpful or stupid (3 comments): "Strunk & White, I have to agree, is mostly not very useful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49064380)) "Of course, S&W is also filled with insanely stupid advice." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49037300)) "overly prescriptive and frankly unhelpful at turns" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49748544))
- Disliked by modern linguists (3 comments): "Don't even get me started on the nonsense promoted by Strunk and White" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46311206)) "Elements of Style is reviled by modern linguists and writers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46284869)) "Strunk and White can shove it, anyway" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49064753))
- Outdated, written a century ago (2 comments): "Just because two guys got together a hundred years ago and wrote some stuff doesn't mean it's worth dedicating a life of writing to." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47816114)) "got revised by some anonymous hack to match current-day sensibilities" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46477491))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [On Writing by Stephen King](https://hackerapproved.com/p/on-writing.md): 9 recommend
- [On Writing Well by William Zinsser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/on-writing-well.md): 4 recommend
- [The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sense-of-style.md): 3 recommend
- [Writing for Developers by Scynthia Dunlop](https://hackerapproved.com/p/writing-for-developers.md): 2 recommend
- [The Chicago Manual of Style by University of Chicago Press](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chicago-manual-of-style.md): 2 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0910301964?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780910301961) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Elements of Style by Strunk and White", https://hackerapproved.com/p/elements-of-style/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).