style vs. substance

It is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric. When they do so, however, the reader will usually find in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at the cost of the violation. Unless he is certain of doing as well, he will probably do best to follow the rules. After he has learned, by their guidance, to write plain English adequate for everyday uses, let him look, for the secrets of style, to the study of the masters of literature.

the last paragraph from the forward to William Strunk's The Elements of Style. This was kindly recommended to me by a professor in a Masters program that I am considering. She actually suggested the whole book, but I was blown away by the universal truth of this paragraph. So what did I do when confronted with a most excellent passage... Steal it and stick it on my blog.

enjoy.