The Elements of Style

Originally written in 1918 by Cornell professor William Strunk Jr. for his English students, then expanded by his former student E. B. White (author of Charlotte's Web and co-author of Strunk & White) in 1959. Now in 288 editions, this 85-page guide to clear English prose — omit needless words, use active voice, put statements in positive form — is the shortest and most memorized writing manual in the English language.

Ogilvy listed The Elements of Style in the "Recommended Reading" appendix of Ogilvy on Advertising. His own 1982 "How to Write" memo, sent to every employee of Ogilvy & Mather, echoes Strunk on every page: short words, short sentences, never write more than two pages. The overlap is not coincidental — Ogilvy believed that clear writing and clear thinking are the same thing.

For a founder, this is the book to internalize before writing anything: a pitch deck, a cold email, a landing page, a memo to the team. If your writing is clear, your thinking is clear. If it is not, Strunk tells you exactly what to cut. The rules are so compact that you can memorize the whole book in an afternoon and apply it for the rest of your career.