The Elements of Style Foreword and Intro Precis

E.B. White, in the Foreword and Introduction of his revised edition of "The Elements of Style", introduces Will Strunk, and the origins of the book. Will Strunk, White's professor at Cornell pre-1920s, had a "little book" which he used to teach his English 8 course. Strunk eventually passed, and after he did, White was asked to revise and remake his "little book", which included many grammar and language rules of English. White generally kept the book the same, not wanting to lose the character or flavor the professor put into the book, but added a few ideas of his own as well within the introduction and chapter on writing. He seems to think highly of his old professor, as he describes him with the utmost respect and reverence. Strunk himself is characterized as a funny little man with a distinctive, but pleasant personality, who would have been a joy to meet and converse with.
These two sections of the book captured my attention with the slight humor, and story behind the writing. I'll be interested to read Strunk's and White's ideas about writing itself, and the few basic rules that must be followed. I'd like to see how I add up in their eyes (whether I make the mistakes or not while I write). I think that it's so funny that "omit needless words" was his number one rule, because that is something so many people, including myself, struggle with, but is so crucial to strong, concise writing.

Chapter 17 and The Ethics of Research

Chapter 17 talks about revising, and especially about sentence structure. Shaping your sentences so that the reader can understand your argument is incredibly important to make your argument come across clearly. You must present your essay clearly and concise, and Chapter 17 helps to break down sentences so you can do just that. 'The Ethics of Research' mainly concludes the book and wraps up everything the authors have said up until this point. It gives you a couple commandments to follow as going through your research (basically reminders not to do anything unethical), and advises you on the social part of research. When you research, you research for the community, and and dishonest act you perform reflects on them as a whole, not only on yourself. Research is not only for you, but for the society, and sharing it is key to progressing it in the future.
I wasn't overly crazy about Chapter 17, because it was a lot of grammar. It was interesting in the way they explained breaking down sentences to really strengthen your argument, but it was mainly stuff that I already knew. It still had some good input that I will keep in mind while forming my sentences and revising my work. 'The Ethics of Research' was a reminder not to plagiarize, which I know already, thank you very much. I liked the motivational suggestions that research was for the community though, it was a good attempt to make me want to write!

Precis Chapters 14 &16

These chapters talk about revising and introducing/concluding your research essay. Chapter 14 focuses on telling the reader how to revise their essay. The authors explain that revision is important, but especially hard, because you must look at your work from your reader's point of view. They also give you a systematic process by which to go about revising your paper in order to get the most objective look at it. Revising does not simply mean editing, like many new researchers think that it does; it includes looking at all aspects of the paper, right down to the wording of the main argument itself. Chapter 16 focuses on including a strong introduction and conclusion in the research essay. There is a step-by-step process the reader can follow which might help make their beginning and ending stronger and more crisp. I especially enjoyed the part that talks about the first and last few words of the paper, and also the title, as I found them especially helpful.
Revising will come a little later in the writing process for me, so I am not much concerned about chapter 14 right now, but I did find chapter 16 very helpful. Introductions and conclusions are something I'm not overly good with, so this chapter could really guide me through the process of writing really strong ones. Also, I always have trouble with creating a catchy/interesting title, so the little bit about that gave me some useful information as well. When I get around to the revision process, chapter 14 will really come in handy, because it was a really good guide to showing me how to look at my paper. Overall, these chapters were really helpful (I guess they all have been in their own ways) and I will totally refer back to them when I need them in the future.