This was a fun assignment because I love to look at other student's blogs and read their writings. I think the general thoughts on S&W and Williams were that both books had effective points, yet for college students in an upper level english class, William's advice was more beneficial. I thought Jennifer's post on What others were saying was a great post and I especially like her end comments about the differences between S&W and Williams as far as beginning a paragraph with a topic sentence. Even though I thought the Strunk & White book was an easier read, this point, or rule (Rule #9), is unclear and much better written in William's book, in my opinion. As I write that sentence, I wonder if it is an un-concise sentence of 20 words or more...LOL. Although Jennifer thought it was more clear as explained by S&W, I appreciated her comments on the same "rule", I just felt that Williams, while "lengthening" the point, explained the argument more clearly.
Rebecca's blog also caught my eye because I am constantly wondering about my correct use of it's and its. The opening chapter in S&W was the most informative to me because it has been a while since I've studied the Elementary Rules of Usage (Third Edition, S&W). This was a great refresher for me - the possessive singular of nouns especially. In her blog, Rebecca states, "I absolutely hate when anyone writes the contraction "it's" when they really mean the possessive "its". I was so happy to see that handled right at the very beginning as being a commonly made mistake, and addressing how it should be corrected". It's great that she is comfortable with the difference, but I think a lot of people struggle with it - or it wouldn't be the first topic in S&W. Although I think S&W's book is somewhat elementary and basic (redundant??) in its rules, when speaking in terms of perfect writing, as I think both books are promoting, its a nice refresher.
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