Good Writing: Reverse-engineering good prose Pinker notes that classic style guides such as The Elements of Style by Strunk and White and Fowler’s A Dictionary of Modern English Usage are now quite old and in their prescriptions for language use largely fail to take into account the fact that language is a tool that changes over time. There are many different ways to use words to communicate ideas and emotions to readers. In this article, I’ll summarize what Pinker does, as well as provide you with a list of some bad style habits students and professionals might unknowingly be cultivating. If you’re looking for a style guide and grammar book that goes beyond the basics, I recommend buying and reading Pinker’s book. His book The Sense of Style : The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century gives the style guide genre a much-needed update for the new millennium. Pinker is a Harvard University professor, linguist, and cognitive psychologist, and he’s proof that even scientists need to write well. You may have heard of Steven Pinker already if you’re interested in neuroscience, linguistics, and/or watch TED talks. Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style is a great style guide and grammar book for people who are confident with their writing and want to dig deeper
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