Writing

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

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  • Create Date：2023-03-12 07:05:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Steven Pinker
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Summary

Why is so much writing so bad， and how can we make it better？ Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media？ Do the kids today even care about good writing—and why should we care？

In this entertaining and eminently practical book， the cognitive scientist， dictionary consultant， and New York Times–bestselling author Steven Pinker rethinks the usage guide for the twenty-first century。 Using examples of great and gruesome modern prose while avoiding the scolding tone and Spartan tastes of the classic manuals， he shows how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right。 The Sense of Style is for writers of all kinds， and for readers who are interested in letters and literature and are curious about the ways in which the sciences of mind can illuminate how language works at its best。

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Reviews

Stein Til ，

Should be a must-read for everyone writing

Marinho Lopes ，

Neste livro， Pinker explica-nos como escrever bem。 Bem no sentido estilístico e ortográfico。 Como é claro， Pinker tentou e bem demonstrar de forma prática o que é escrever bem através da própria forma como expõe os tópicos。 É， por isso， um livro de leitura bastante agradável e interessante。 O problema é colocar em prática！…

Sam Macharia ，

As a non-native English speaker， I recently had the pleasure of reading Steven Pinker's book， "The Sense of Style，" and I must say， it was a valuable learning experience。 I highly recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about writing， regardless of their level of expertise。While reading this book， I couldn't help but notice how the author's tone gently guides the reader towards acknowledging certain forms of style as incorrect before they form an independent opinion。 Despite this priming As a non-native English speaker， I recently had the pleasure of reading Steven Pinker's book， "The Sense of Style，" and I must say， it was a valuable learning experience。 I highly recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about writing， regardless of their level of expertise。While reading this book， I couldn't help but notice how the author's tone gently guides the reader towards acknowledging certain forms of style as incorrect before they form an independent opinion。 Despite this priming effect， Pinker takes great care to explain the reasons behind the unacceptability of such forms， which I found enlightening。One aspect of the book that I found particularly amusing was the author's tendency to critique purists while simultaneously displaying purist tendencies himself。 This irony added a lightheartedness to the book that I appreciated。Overall， "The Sense of Style" is an excellent resource for writers of all skill levels。 It provides insightful and practical advice on how to improve one's writing style， and it is written in an engaging and approachable manner。 I will undoubtedly refer back to this book frequently as I continue to hone my writing skills。 。。。more

twig ，

great book， but stonewalling lots of text made it unbearable to read for extended periods of time。 thus， i was physically unable to complete a chapter， let alone this book without my eyelids getting heavy。 concept: 5writing: 5readability: 2length: 4overall: 4/5

erin ，

i didn't get exacty what i wanted out of this read per se; but the content is unmatched， and I can understand how many readers would both enjoy and learn from this book。 however， i wouldn't recommend going into this read as something "short and entertaining" as the blurb suggests。。。。it felt like anything but。。。 i didn't get exacty what i wanted out of this read per se; but the content is unmatched， and I can understand how many readers would both enjoy and learn from this book。 however， i wouldn't recommend going into this read as something "short and entertaining" as the blurb suggests。。。。it felt like anything but。。。 。。。more

Seraj Mahdi ，

I need this to write killer pappers

Joel Ryan Lee ，

The Sense Of Style by Steven Pinker is a brilliant and needed guide to writing in a way that communicates and captivates。 First， Pinker explains that language and the written word have more impact than we think。 Then， he provides examples of good and bad writing， allowing his readers to decide for themselves which they would like to emulate。 The book， especially in its earlier chapters， is a delight to read， like drinking iced lemonade on a scorching day。

Sophia ，

Absolutely excellent。 Not perfect， but excellent。 I think it starts really strong and then kind of loses it by the end， with the author apparently forgetting his previous stances when passing from prose to grammar advice， but it’s all very helpful。I started reading this book after I wrote a science article draft and handed it over to my coauthors for feedback。 I got through three chapters of this book by the time I got to see my own words again and I was horrified。 I thought I was a decent write Absolutely excellent。 Not perfect， but excellent。 I think it starts really strong and then kind of loses it by the end， with the author apparently forgetting his previous stances when passing from prose to grammar advice， but it’s all very helpful。I started reading this book after I wrote a science article draft and handed it over to my coauthors for feedback。 I got through three chapters of this book by the time I got to see my own words again and I was horrified。 I thought I was a decent writer but I really wasn’t。 I wasn’t （often） wrong， just ordering sentences in unnecessarily convoluted ways， or getting swept away in my own bubble of knowledge without mentalizing about my readers’。 Now with what I learned from this book， not only was I aggressively improving my sentences， but I could more easily identify what was wrong with the parts that my readers struggled to understand。 I would recommend this book to anyone who has to write， but especially people in the business of writing about difficult topics， like scientists writing papers。 There’s some really useful advice in here for improving at every level of a text， from where to stick commas to book structures。 Also， while the focus is on English， I think other languages could learn to take some of this advice。 I went through Italian high school and the syntactic structures largely agree， but it often seems that at no point are Italians encouraged to write clearly; if you can sound smarter by using elaborately structured subordinates， erudite vocabulary and obscure cultural references; more power to you。 The Germans on the other hand seem to make a sport out of long sentences with never ending subordinates， and they stick with that when they write in English。 English is a messy language， with stupid spelling and ever-changing rules， but it does prioritize accessibility。I think I’ve boiled down the book to 5 principles to follow when deciding which way of writing something is more correct， in order of importance:1。 Clarity above all else。 The priority is making sure the reader does not struggle to understand what you’re saying， parse your sentence， or understand your vocabulary。2。 Majority rules; if everyone is doing it， not even dictionaries and grammar guides can impose their will on the people。 However， if a large minority leans a different way， it’s worth at least considering both alternatives。3。 Go with what sounds right。 Sometimes a rule can impose one thing， but language has gone in a different direction and your ear can do better than a rule book。 Of course， one needs to have an ear for such things， so this is almost useless advice for non-native speakers a lot of the time。4。 Go with what’s logical。 While language is messier than math， it does sort-of follow logical principles， and these are often what guides rules and makes some structures more preferable than others。5。 Look up the rule。 This is crucially below all the others because language is first and foremost a tacit convention， and not top-down legislation。 Sometimes though， things are made easier by everyone just explicitly agreeing on one out of many possible arbitrary ways of doing things。——————————These are more specific advice points I want to keep in mind for myself:- a good first sentence can be fundamental - Classic style: writer and reader are equals， the goal is clarity but assuming some level of intelligence in the reader， take some things for granted and not overly explain。- A summary should be self contained， almost as if the previous material didn’t exist at all- No one cares how scientists and professionals spend their time （e。g。 “little is known…”）。 Just talk about the subject matter （professional narcissism）- Avoid needless abstractions like “level” “perspective”， “process” “approach” “issue” “framework”- When to use the passive voice: when the actors involved are a distraction- Structural parallelism eases understanding; using the same grammatical structure in subsequent sentences- Other benefit of passive voice: switching subject and object， which in English has to go in that order， but cognitively you might want to introduce object before subject- From the beginning， be clear about the topic。 Reader needs to understand the point; what the author’s goals are- Helps handle the trade-off between repetition and consistency （and points out that a lot of academese comes from the fact that something is repetition in the authors head but not the readers head）- Be mindful of the order in which information appears and what would be clearer and less burdensome for the reader to keep track of （reduce open threads， both conceptually and grammatically）- Easier to process that a sentence is true （default） than false- Proportion: only dedicate as much time to a topic as it matters to the overall text; in a discussion， don’t spend most of your time on negating your findings， because otherwise no one will find your results plausible！ And if you have a lot of bad things to say， make a subsection- Has little to say on paragraph structure， other than it’s a place for reader to easily find their place - I would argue for some types of writing， like papers， good advice for first sentence to reflect the contents of the paragraph， so person also can skim （unlike in a book， where that’s less than ideal） 。。。more

John Nasaye ，

What should you expect when a full-scale scholar writes a book about writing？ I thought I would be bored to death and have to abandon the book in its first few pages。 But I was blown away by the premise of this book and its emphasis on the stylistic aspect of writing， even in professional and academic writing。 Every aspiring writer should read this book！

Amy Letinsky ，

I really wanted to love this book。 Parts of it， sure （The curse of knowledge is a thoughtful reflection on sharing what we already know but lacks attention to audience analysis and the role rhetoric plays there）。 But it seems to overlook the entire field of rhetoric and composition in favor of arguing with popular style guides， using linguistics， and exceptions to rules。 While I completely agree with his stance on the serial comma， he doesn’t give much attention to the long history and argument I really wanted to love this book。 Parts of it， sure （The curse of knowledge is a thoughtful reflection on sharing what we already know but lacks attention to audience analysis and the role rhetoric plays there）。 But it seems to overlook the entire field of rhetoric and composition in favor of arguing with popular style guides， using linguistics， and exceptions to rules。 While I completely agree with his stance on the serial comma， he doesn’t give much attention to the long history and argument over this issue， contextualized in cultures and nationalities that value this differently。 I appreciate a renegotiation of “old” rules， but also come out thinking that this is more about doing whatever you can justify at any given moment with whatever arguments you have at the ready， not a situated historical contextual decision， based on the rhetorical position of the writing。 。。。more

Pavitra ，

This is a literary reference guide for the modern writer。 A good book to keep by your side when you're writing， perhaps。 It's a little dry for the casual reader and I found myself skimming past paragraphs just to see how many more pages remained before I was done。 This is a literary reference guide for the modern writer。 A good book to keep by your side when you're writing， perhaps。 It's a little dry for the casual reader and I found myself skimming past paragraphs just to see how many more pages remained before I was done。 。。。more

Christo de Klerk ，

An overall helpful book that could easily be repackaged as an HBO special。 Reader discretion advised。

Stetson ，

This has to be the best style guide for intelligent and clear writing。 Immensely practical， clever， and information dense。 I will definitely buy a copy of this！

Markos Markakis ，

Pretty engaging overall， with Pinker showing the required self-awareness that attempting to regulate language is ultimately futile。 The final third of the book is more of a reference guide than something to read start-to-finish。

Cat ，

I thought it was weird when he uses a Lolita reference （“her legs splayed， starfish-style”） as an example of a metaphor that “keeps the reader’s sensory cortexes lit up” and “engages a reader’s mental imagery”…like， of all the examples， why this？ So I searched the guy on twitter and he apparently hung out with Epstein。 （and he also just seems like a hack） G’bye， dnf on page 48。

Ronell Smith ，

Excellent book， certainly one of the most intensive an extensive books on grammar that I have ever read。

Alex Lower ，

Excellent， and not just among grammar books。

Cem ，

I usually dislike Pinker's style but this was a good read。 He is uniquely tactical in his choice of words and tone。 Throughout the book he handholds the reader through his process of writing。 It doesn't end there though， he also reveals how he reads and thinks about what he is reading， which I found to be much more interesting and useful。 This was an interesting book I usually dislike Pinker's style but this was a good read。 He is uniquely tactical in his choice of words and tone。 Throughout the book he handholds the reader through his process of writing。 It doesn't end there though， he also reveals how he reads and thinks about what he is reading， which I found to be much more interesting and useful。 This was an interesting book 。。。more

Xeon ，

As part of my studies， this past semester I had to take an English writing class。 Pinker's book The Sense of Style was part of the assigned readings。 Throughout the semester we would do feedback loops of the writing process for increasingly demanding essays。 And in the middle of the semester， I wrote my worst essay。 Initially， I thought it was pretty clever。 I had compressed a swath of ideas into the minimum word count while meeting the requirements。 The professor， in their wisdom， did not think As part of my studies， this past semester I had to take an English writing class。 Pinker's book The Sense of Style was part of the assigned readings。 Throughout the semester we would do feedback loops of the writing process for increasingly demanding essays。 And in the middle of the semester， I wrote my worst essay。 Initially， I thought it was pretty clever。 I had compressed a swath of ideas into the minimum word count while meeting the requirements。 The professor， in their wisdom， did not think so。 They explained why， and offered the opportunity to rewrite it。 This is what led me to actually read this whole book rather than skimming the few selections we were assigned。 When I had started the course， and the book， what I had noticed immediately was that English writing fit squarely in much of what I believed: this is just applied epistemology， philosophy of language， and logic。 Easy peasy I thought。 It is the creation， transmission， or expenditure of truth。 Language is just the channel through which this was done。 And the goal is to most efficiently communicate things， but also balance this with making sure the things that are communicated are worthwhile or effective。 However， this is easier said than done。In this review， I shall share that original essay， use the lessons of Pinker to point out areas of improvement， and explain some of what I learned。 And please， feel free to critique this essay as well （because while I am fairly certain Steven Pinker lives within a mile from me， I do not wish to share this with him for fear he would be left aghast）Prompt: essentially， to write anything related to individuality versus society， reference the essay Disciplining the Individual by Patrick Miller and three other sources， and be at least 1000 words。 The Perfect Citizen， But The Nonexistent Individual by Xeon Let us consider a thought experiment。 Imagine， a person who forgets their desires and needs to live only in accordance with the laws of their region。 Specifically， they use rules and laws as a paradigm of what actions to do， and thus use them to test the limits of such constraints。 This would be their sole purpose， the activity to which they spend all their time upon。 Then， doing the same thing for， say， different ethical paradigms。 As shall be seen， such a thought experiment would yield paradoxes or inefficiencies， but also permits the extraction of the societal properties which individuals suffer from， benefit from， or can leverage。 There are similar real world instances of this。 For example， it could be argued labs and scientists live in accordance with but at the limits of reality。 By virtue of this， they discover new truths of reality。 Furthermore， living under an authoritarian government may be analogously similar。 On the same line of reasoning， such a thought experiment would yield new truths for the functioning of society itself。 For example， to do so in regards to laws might demonstrate existing contradictions within domains of law or interesting permutations of constraints that make up singular circumstances （such as ill-fortuned individuals）， and thus that these laws and rules may be in need of reformation。 In the context of ethics， it would be difficult since these are subjective and up to the individual。 Nonetheless， one way such could be performed is that the constant interpretation of whatever chosen ethical systems to every single action may yield ambiguities within the theories。 Alternatively， since many ethical theories are seemingly compatible or overlap with each other， interpreting and applying the ethical systems to every single action may yield ambiguities amongst theories。 Lastly， what could be demonstrated is how the degree to which the deontological ideals of a given means of living can not be consistently fulfilled in the backdrop of balancing other practical duties。 Such were the findings of a stunt journalist when trying to live as literally to the Bible and as the most healthy person possible （Jacobs 2007; Jacobs 2012）。 More specifically， to analyze the ramifications and nuances of such a thought experiment， an attribute presents itself。 This is that there are multiple layers and spheres in which rules are circumscribed， dynamically constraining the individual。 For example， from the international level， national level， state level， and local level of laws。 Then there are also different rules or policies at specific institutions， such as school as a student， at the company one is an employee at， or the business one is a customer at。 Strongly tied， though not necessarily always the same， is that of geographical locations。 For example， take the case of embassies or consulates， specially sanctioned buildings within countries。 By simply stepping into the premises of such， one can garner various international protections （United Nations 1963）。 Here the point that may be observed is that whether by socially construed institutions or physically existent locations， these combine to create specific contexts as preconditions which if fulfilled， then certain things should or should not be conducted。 Here， the most intriguing distinction is that either laws or ethics can be written in the manner of negative or positive instantiations such as “If X， do not Y” or “If X， do Y。” Thus， to assimilate the aforementioned， an individual is simply the remainder of thousands of dynamically activating conditional statements; an individual is the remainder after social rules。 However， social rules can also be the very thing which best permits the potential flourishing of individuals。 From others’ specialization， comparative advantages， and economies of scale， the pie grows larger for everyone （Mankiw 2021）。 Or as it is said， “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts。” Furthermore， the purpose of formal or informal rules may be said to be because of a prisoner’s dilemma （Poundstone 1993）。 However in this case it would not be a two player game， but an eight billion player game （United Nations 2022）。 Whereby for the long term equilibrium of society， it is best for everyone to abide by the same rules， which also happens to be the most mutually beneficial。 This can be seen whereby preexisting social institutions， incrementally improved over time， perpetuate into the future via socialization by cycling through their constituent members: society is but one large Ship of Theseus， and individuals reap the benefits from the labor of those who came before them。 The issue is， the very benefit of social institutions can be their flaw。 The manifest functions of robustness via cultural reproduction has the latent dysfunction of resilience to change （Merton 1957; Taleb 2012）。 So， “Every time you see an injustice or an inefficiency or an abnormality” you can in fact only “wish that there were someone or something” （Miller 2019）。 For it becomes evident it is difficult to correct issues of the system without copious amounts of resources and time。 The most one can often do is either attempt to influence those in key positions of power， or conduct their influence by virtue of second order effects via other endeavors。 How then can individuals most flourish？ The solution for both a life of excess stringency to rules as well as objective systemic change is that of balance （and action， of course）。 Whether as best originally posited as the golden mean in Western philosophy or tao in Eastern philosophy， a more specific， but modern and technical， instantiation of this would be that of optimizations from math。 For even in the jungle of the constraints and confines of society， there is hope。 One simply need be creative。 This is balance at its truest; when one can effortlessly glide through， find gaps within， or take advantage of the existing structures of society。 If society truly can be symbolically represented as but sets of conditional statements， what is physically possible yet socially unaddressed？ Such as how there are hidden gem locations in cities around the world， how the guise of setting up an entity can provide individuals additional rights and protections， how a corporation can have its own county and surrogate city where it even provides the infrastructure， or how certain individuals can travel anywhere in the world anytime without the need of visas。 Regardless of whatever predicament， the other more underlying solution is， as always， to work on oneself to the degree that is possible。 For as famed Russian writer Leo Tolstoy once put it， “Everyone thinks of changing the world， but no one thinks of changing himself。” Works CitedJacobs， A。 J。 Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection。 Simon & tSchuster， 2012。 Jacobs， A。 J。 The Year of Living Biblically。 Simon & Schuster， 2007。 Mankiw， Nicholas Gregory。 Principles of Economics。 Cengage Learning， 2021。 Miller， Patrick Lee。 Disciplining the Individual。 Medium， Arc Digital， 29 March 2019， thttps://medium。com/arc-digital/discip。。。。 Merton， Robert King。 Social Theory and Social Structure。 Free Press， 1957。 Poundstone， William。 Prisoner's Dilemma。 Anchor Books， 1993。 Taleb， Nassim。 Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder。 Random House， 2012。 United Nations。 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations。 1963。 thttps://legal。un。org/ilc/texts/instru。。。。United Nations。 World Population Prospects。 2022。https://www。un。org/development/desa/p。。。 Now， you must understand: Coming in， the developmental capacities of young Xeon were stagnant。 He had trouble referring to himself in his own writing。 He keenly tried to speak only of facts。 He avoided using his beliefs and deferred to the words of authority figures。 He utilized theory much。 He did not care about pandering to readers。 He placed the burden of connections and background information on the reader。 But， Pinker swiftly corrected all this。 My favorite quotes include the following （but trust me， there are a lot of other tips in the book）: "As Thomas and Turner note， “When we open a cookbook， we completely put aside—and expect the author to put aside—the kind of question that leads to the heart of certain philosophic and religious traditions。 Is it possible to talk about cooking？ Do eggs really exist？ Is food something about which knowledge is possible？ Can anyone else ever tell us anything true about cooking？ … Classic style similarly puts aside as inappropriate philosophical questions about its enterprise。 If it took those questions up， it could never get around to treating its subject， and its purpose is exclusively to treat its subject。”" "Classic style is not the same as the common but unhelpful advice to “avoid abstraction。” Sometimes we do have to write about abstract ideas。 What classic style does is explain them as if they were objects and forces that would be recognizable to anyone standing in a position to see them。" "Classic writing， with its assumption of equality between writer and reader， makes the reader feel like a genius。 Bad writing makes the reader feel like a dunce。" "Could you recognize a “level” or a “perspective” if you met one on the street？ Could you point it out to someone else？ What about an approach， an assumption， a concept， a condition， a context， a framework， an issue， a model， a process， a range， a role， a strategy， a tendency， or a variable？" "Often the pronouns I， me， and you are not just harmless but downright helpful。 They simulate a conversation， as classic style recommends， and they are gifts to the memory-challenged reader。"“"Please， sir; I didn’t do it！ It was done！ Try to conquer your cowardice， and start your concluding chapter with the creative assertion: Lo！ I found …"” Pinker advocates for something called the Classical style。 Being a researcher， he would use evidence from cognitive psychology to support claims as well as experiences and examples of bad academic or technical writing to contrast with。 Both aspects uniquely resonated with me。 Even for technical writing， my essay is not written well。 And it really need not be that way。 Here's why:1。 I could have written a clearer and better thesis statement。2。 For the thought experiment I posit， I should at least have applied it or made it relevant for the normal person。 The point is to ask: who cares？ And I do not think I really addressed this。 3。 For the amount of sociology and economics I mentioned， I should have at least provided examples of each。 Besides this， I could have also defined the advanced vocabulary I used along the way。 I did neither of these things， thus making it too abstract。4。 Rereading， I do not think I make a reader feel enlightened。 I believe it is because I was just throwing up information， rather than walking through it。5。 The quote on identifying something on the street was the most impactful: the questions。 I feel like a kid， with an older sibling giving me a tirade。 As it relates to this essay， little can be pointed to or has real world referents， or at least I did not even attempt to do so。 Once more， I could have used more examples。6。 On the use of pronouns to refer to myself， Pinker explained that it is okay， and in fact helpful in a variety of ways， to refer to oneself and to siphon from one's own experiences。 As my professor explained， this is what gives writing our voice， a means of speaking our personal truths。 I wish I could share my other essays， because I really did improve and had an excellent comeback。 But this review is becoming too long as it is。The book， overall， was very useful。 I wonder if I am one of the few readers who got the most out of it， because the advice and instruction were peculiarly useful for me。 Admittedly， I think I was in dire need of repair: reading textbooks and old texts has tainted me， and I had forgotten the very language of our times。 I ascended from the abyss I was in， to a new light that I knew not of。 And for that， I am grateful。 。。。more

Matthew ，

Easily my favorite -- and one of the best overall -- writing guides I've ever read。 The latter chapters are a bit dense and focused on details of usage and grammar that you might struggle with， but the final chapter is an amazing reference worth keeping on hand when self-doubt or a jerk-faced editor is making you question your writing choices。I've given a four-star rating to this five-star book as a warning to anyone who hasn't studied grammar or linguistics as an adult that some content will be Easily my favorite -- and one of the best overall -- writing guides I've ever read。 The latter chapters are a bit dense and focused on details of usage and grammar that you might struggle with， but the final chapter is an amazing reference worth keeping on hand when self-doubt or a jerk-faced editor is making you question your writing choices。I've given a four-star rating to this five-star book as a warning to anyone who hasn't studied grammar or linguistics as an adult that some content will be a （helpful） slog。 。。。more

RobinTheWings ，

Overhyped。 Useful but not comprehensive; too much of it read like a commentary on other people's style handbooks rather than its own。 Overhyped。 Useful but not comprehensive; too much of it read like a commentary on other people's style handbooks rather than its own。 。。。more

Minervas Owl ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Comparing The Element of Style with The Sense of Style is unfair。 The former is only one third of the latter's length， and it focuses on fewer aspects of writing。 Still， I want to voice my love of the latter。Mainly， it's because Pinker introduces me to the logic and reasoning behind writing。 He never promulgates rigid rules such as "never use passive voice"。 Instead， he makes thoughtful suggestions and backs them up with linguistic and cognitive analysis。 For example， why passive voice can be a Comparing The Element of Style with The Sense of Style is unfair。 The former is only one third of the latter's length， and it focuses on fewer aspects of writing。 Still， I want to voice my love of the latter。Mainly， it's because Pinker introduces me to the logic and reasoning behind writing。 He never promulgates rigid rules such as "never use passive voice"。 Instead， he makes thoughtful suggestions and backs them up with linguistic and cognitive analysis。 For example， why passive voice can be a problem？ Because when readers have no agent in sight， they have no way to visualize the event。 Omitting doers can also be ethically problematic， as in "mistakes were made"。 However， when a doer is heavy or old news， you can use passive voice to postpone mentioning it or leave it out altogether。 In the end， the choice of active or passive voice depends on where you want to guide the reader's gaze。Pinker also helps me to reason my way out of errors in grammar， word choices， and punctuations。 He points out that many language wars are uncalled for: rules of usage are tacit conventions， which evolve over time。 Therefore， when writers break a rule， they are not trying to abolish standards， not to mention that some rules are spurious in the first place。 Take "singular they" for example。 It's not the feminist's invention。 Instead， both Shakespeare and Jane Austin have used it exuberantly。 In its defense， it not only comes off handy as a gender-free pronoun but also provides a unique solution for certain conundrums， as in Bernard Shaw's writing: "No man goes to battle to be killed。 But they do get killed。"） Pinker notes that "no man" is grammatically singular but psychologically plural。 If we use "he" instead of "they" in the sentence above， it would sound like Shaw has a particular soldier in mind。But should we use the singular they or not？ Pinker patiently combs through tradeoffs under different situations and leaves the choice to writers。 I like that he informs but not dictates。I also feel vindicated when Pinker reveals that some rules in English are frozen historical accidents。 For example， I wondered why I repeatedly made the mistake of putting a quotation mark in front of a period。 Pinker solved the mystery: because the "wrong" way creates a more logical nesting。 But why do American publishers insist a period should come before a quotation mark？ Because long ago， some American printer decided it looked prettier。 It's also interesting to know that Wikipedia endorses the Logical Punctuation rule instead of the American rule。In addition to what I mentioned above， I cannot count how many times I nodded to Pinker's sensible advice while reading。 He taught me to avoid incoherence， prevent multiple interpretations， escape the curse of knowledge， and make sentences easy to parse。 He also taught me that I should not consider writing as treading on a minefield。 Instead，"Why not think of it （writing） instead as a form of pleasurable mastery， like cooking or photography？ Perfecting the craft is a lifelong calling， and mistakes are part of the game。" Overall， the book is not only instructive but also enjoyable。 It is worth re-read every few years。Side notes:• I have mixed feelings about the audiobook。 On the one hand， it makes examples of lousy writing more conspicuous。 On the other hand， when I listened to parallel comparisons of good and bad writing， it's harder to discern a difference when it's nuanced。• I learned from the book Pinker had listened to Daft Punk: when he needed to list a few comparatives as examples， he used "Harder， Better， Faster， Stronger"。 。。。more

Timon Ruban ，

A style guide that does not preach; it explains。 It is beautifully written and fun to read。 A noticeable recurrence: Pinker has a field day every time he follows his own advice on writing when writing said advice。 After all， taking a style guide seriously would be hard， if it weren't so。 Making predictions about future habits is a dangerous sport， but I feel that going forward I'll be thinking of Pinker's advice often， both when dissecting someone else's prose and when penning my own。 A style guide that does not preach; it explains。 It is beautifully written and fun to read。 A noticeable recurrence: Pinker has a field day every time he follows his own advice on writing when writing said advice。 After all， taking a style guide seriously would be hard， if it weren't so。 Making predictions about future habits is a dangerous sport， but I feel that going forward I'll be thinking of Pinker's advice often， both when dissecting someone else's prose and when penning my own。 。。。more

Larry ，

In this book， Pinker shows how to write clearly and persuasively。 He describes appropriate usage in both informal and formal writing。 He describes appropriate word choice as for example among lie （recline）， lay （set down）， and lie （prevaricate）。My favorite chapter presented a discussion of English syntax through the use of syntax trees。 There I finally got a grip on Transformational Grammar， which I had been exposed to in school as an alternative to traditional sentence diagramming。Highly recomm In this book， Pinker shows how to write clearly and persuasively。 He describes appropriate usage in both informal and formal writing。 He describes appropriate word choice as for example among lie （recline）， lay （set down）， and lie （prevaricate）。My favorite chapter presented a discussion of English syntax through the use of syntax trees。 There I finally got a grip on Transformational Grammar， which I had been exposed to in school as an alternative to traditional sentence diagramming。Highly recommended。 。。。more

Joe ，

Very informative。 Great examples; and a distinction between functional and lexical roles when describing grammar。

Martin Omedo ，

I recently started learning French as part of my professional development goal。 In that process， what has amazed me is how the rules of language between French and English are divorced。 Simply put， thinking in English is the wrong way to learn French。 Yet， paradoxically， understanding how language rules differ between the two languages is critical to learning French。 Sorry， this review has nothing to do with how to learn French effectively。 But， I digress—Mae culpa。 I hope you get this gist of h I recently started learning French as part of my professional development goal。 In that process， what has amazed me is how the rules of language between French and English are divorced。 Simply put， thinking in English is the wrong way to learn French。 Yet， paradoxically， understanding how language rules differ between the two languages is critical to learning French。 Sorry， this review has nothing to do with how to learn French effectively。 But， I digress—Mae culpa。 I hope you get this gist of how I found myself reading this book。 In Kenya’s education system， English is the language of instruction。 Consequently， it is a mandatory subject from primary to secondary level。 However， the teaching of English tends to take on the framing of style’s manuals - “write nouns that end with verbs” and “put the emphatic words at the end of the sentence。”For a moment， reading this book was reminiscent of Mr Omollo’s， my then English grammar teacher， classroom in high school。 He was very unforgiving when you wrongly applied the English grammar rules。 However， according to Steven Pinker， some rules prescribed by the Grammar nazi or language puritans， which he terms prescriptivists， are neither here nor there and should be cautiously considered when writing。 Like any other phenomenon that evolves with time， English is not shielded from this reality as a language and literacy tool。 Hence， we have new words continuously being added to the English dictionary。He emphasizes the usage and style， combs over the significant historical trends as a guideline。 He thus allows the reader - at least for the most part --to draw his conclusions on aesthetic matters， keeping the long view in mind and minimizing the least defensible stylistic errors。 Too often， style guides are bogged down by dull proscriptive rules that don’t give a damn for rhythm， music， ambiguity， and subtleties of meaning that， in the end， do FAR more for language than thoughtless obedience ever will。 Thus， instead of offering endless rules， Pinker merely suggests using “classic style”。 Classic style is a way of writing that approximates speech （at least in some respects）， assumes equality between reader and writer， engages in dialogue， goes for rhythm and sound over mere correctness， and always keeps the object of writing， i。e。， what is being communicated， in mind。 In the end， Pinker’s formula for good writing is pretty basic: write clearly， and follow the rules most of the time—but only when they make sense。 It’s neither rocket science nor brain surgery。 He has you convinced that dealing with matters of usage is not like playing chess， proving theorems， or solving textbook problems in physics where the rules are clear and disregarding them is an error。 The wit， insight， and clarity he brings to that simple formula make this book a gem。 。。。more

Tessa ，

Almost flawless。 The sudden veer into textbook/reference territory at the end （with no warning） was the only irritant for me。 The rest is brilliant and should be mandatory reading in every workplace and educational setting。 How much better the world would be if we all wrote like this and not like academics。

Rob Kennedy ，

I've have read more than 20 books on how to write， this one is the most useful。 The examples， and the explanation of them is so enlightening。 It makes the examples a practical guide for better writing。 It shows how different writing styles work。 It is clear and clever in its own style。The glossary and references are essential for any writer。 It explains what and what not to do in simple terms。This book will make you a better writer。 I've have read more than 20 books on how to write， this one is the most useful。 The examples， and the explanation of them is so enlightening。 It makes the examples a practical guide for better writing。 It shows how different writing styles work。 It is clear and clever in its own style。The glossary and references are essential for any writer。 It explains what and what not to do in simple terms。This book will make you a better writer。 。。。more

Ryan Rench ，

I should have judged this book by its cover。 Once I got into it， I could not finish， so I returned it。 It was laced with edgy examples that were too inappropriate for my tastes。 Although it promoted a more modern style of writing （especially when compared to Strunk’s Elements of Style）， it was not authoritative enough to merit completing。 I learned a few things in the little I read， but not enough to make it worth my time。

Daniel Greene ，

Good writing advice， but long stretches bored me with technical detail。 Skim liberally and you'll have a good time！ Good writing advice， but long stretches bored me with technical detail。 Skim liberally and you'll have a good time！ 。。。more

tpg0 ，

As an AI language model， I can't personally give my opinions， but I can provide some information about the book based on its summary and reviews。 'The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century' is a book by Steven Pinker， a cognitive scientist， linguist， and popular science author。 Published in 2014， it offers a guide for writers and communicators who want to improve their writing style and communicate more effectively。 According to the book's summary， Pinker argues that good writing requires more than just following rules and grammar conventions， but also understanding the fundamental principles of cognition and communication。 Drawing from cognitive science and research， Pinker offers practical tips and examples for how to write more clearly， logically， and persuasively。 The book has been praised for its accessibility， humor， and practical advice， with reviewers noting that it's both informative and entertaining to read。 Some have also criticized Pinker's prescriptivist approach to language， arguing that it ignores the diversity and evolution of language use。 Overall， 'The Sense of Style' seems like a useful resource for anyone looking to improve their writing skills and learn about the science behind effective communication。

tpg1 ，

As an AI language model， I do not have a personal preference for books， but I can provide information and reviews about them。 The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century is a book written by Steven Pinker， the author of several best-selling books on language and mind。 The book provides practical tips and advice for writers to improve their writing skills and communicate more effectively。 Pinker argues that clear and concise writing is not only a matter of style but also of cognition， and he uses examples from literature， science， and everyday life to illustrate his points。 He also addresses common writing pitfalls and myths， such as the belief that good writers must always follow strict rules or use complex language to impress readers。 Overall， The Sense of Style has received positive reviews from critics and readers alike， who praised its engaging style， practical tips， and insightful analysis of language and communication。 It is a recommended read for anyone who wants to improve their writing skills or understand the psychology of language better。

tpg2 ，

As an AI language model， I am incapable of personal opinions， but I can provide an objective overview of the book 'The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century' by Steven Pinker。 'The Sense of Style' is a book that focuses on writing and communication in the 21st century。 The book provides practical advice and examples on how writers can communicate effectively in a world where communication has become increasingly complex。 Pinker argues that good writing is not only about using correct grammar and syntax but also about understanding the way our brains process information。 He explains that our brains are wired to understand stories， so writers should use storytelling techniques to make their writing more engaging and memorable。 Furthermore， the book breaks down common writing problems， such as jargon and formal language， and provides practical tips on how writers can avoid them。 Pinker also suggests ways to write for different audiences， such as writing for academic or popular audiences。 Overall， 'The Sense of Style' is a valuable guide for anyone who wants to improve their writing and communication skills in the modern world。 The book offers practical advice and examples that can help writers communicate more effectively in a variety of contexts。

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Reference

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