This volume is an important companion to The Craft of Research. Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace focuses on the smaller-scale task of constructing coherent and effective sentences and paragraphs. Williams does not just state the principles, but illustrates how they work with myriad examples of good and bad writing — so you can see what not to do as well. This can be very helpful in diagnosing and fixing problems in your own writing. He also discusses usage and how to employ elements of balance, rhythm, and metaphor to create not just effective, but also elegant prose. A previous edition of this volume was my first serious writing guide as an undergraduate, and I continue to refer to it regularly we-won’t-discuss-how-many-years-later.
Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, Fifth Edition, by Joseph M. Williams and Joseph Bizup, University of Chicago Press
Angela Roskop Erisman 