Here are a few examples, including two that we’ll unpack later in this article: But those rules sometimes produce the exact opposite: stodgy writing that isn’t relatable or engaging. Grammatical rules exist to make writing simpler and easier to read. “Many style manuals treat traditional rules of usage the way fundamentalists treat the Ten Commandments: as unerring laws chiseled in sapphire for mortals to obey or risk eternal damnation….Although some of the rules can make prose better, many of them make it worse, and writers are better off flouting them.” -Steven Pinker Here are the top 13 things I learned from Pinker’s book: 1. Pinker offers hundreds of practical examples, walking through text snippets from the popular press, media, and academia to contrast strong versus weak writing. I’ve never heard another writer mention this book, which is shocking because Pinker is a titan in the world of nonfiction and The Sense of Style is one of the most effective craft books ever written. Steven Pinker wrote the most underrated writing advice book of the past decade: The Sense of Style. Image Credit: Bhaawest on Wikimedia Commons
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