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The cover of The Sense of Style

The Sense of Style

Steven Pinker

How can you write clear, graceful prose by studying what good writers do and seeing your text through a reader's eyes?

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At a glance

Author
Steven Pinker

Why read it

  • You will understand the curse of knowledge: the main cause of confusing prose is the difficulty of imagining what it is like not to know
  • You will learn how classic style can cure stuffy academic, bureaucratic, corporate and legal prose
  • You will judge whether complaints about usage, like less versus fewer, are really about clarity, grace or coherence

Who it is for

  • A professional whose reports are called stuffy
  • A student writing essays or a thesis
  • An editor tired of arguments about usage rules

Contents

  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter 1
  3. GOOD WRITING
  4. Chapter 2
  5. A WINDOW ONTO THE WORLD
  6. Chapter 3
  7. THE CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE
  8. Chapter 4
  9. THE WEB, THE TREE, AND THE STRING
  10. Chapter 5
  11. ARCS OF COHERENCE
  12. Chapter 6
  13. TELLING RIGHT FROM WRONG

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