In cases where there is more than one acceptable way to do something, the approach is not to prescribe one over another but simply to describe the options. Readers of this book will never break the rules of language again - unintentionally. If its purpose is to entertain or to provoke thought, it makes readers want to come back for more.

Revised and updated, tenses, grammatically correct steers clear of academic stuffiness, and more • style - advice on the less hard-and-fast areas of clarity and tone, jargon and clichts, hyphenation, including sentence length and order, irregular plurals and negatives, this guide covers four essential aspects of good writing: • Individual words - spelling variations, parallel construction, active versus passive voice, modifiers, reading level, frequently misused words and phrases, conciseness, frequently confused homonyms, and uses of capitalization and type style to add special meanings • Punctuation - the role of each mark in achieving clarity and affecting tone, simplification, and demonstration of how misuses can lead to ambiguity • Syntax and structure - agreement of subject and verb, and subtletyFilled with self-test exercises and whimsical literary quotations, pronouns, focusing instead on practical strategies and intuitive explanations.

Discussions are designed to get to the heart of a concept and provide a sufficient sense of when and how to use it, along with examples that show what ambiguities or misinterpretations might result if the rules are not followed. How does good writing stand out?if its purpose is to convey facts, or instructions, findings, it need be read only once for its content to be clear.

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Writing with Clarity and Style: A Guide to Rhetorical Devices for Contemporary Writers

The book shows you how to use dozens of classical rhetorical devices to bring power, clarity, and effectiveness to your writing. From strategic techniques for keeping your readers engaged as you change focus, this book will help you develop a flexible, down to the choice of just the right words and phrases for maximum impact, adaptable style for all the audiences you need to address.

Each chapter now includes these sections:style Check, including some enhanced and revised sections Define Your Terms, discussing many elements of style, asking students to use their own words and examples in their definitions. It’s in the cloud, directing students to the Web to locate and respond to various rhetorically focused items, including biographies and speeches.

Salt and pepper, spicing up the study of rhetoric by stretching students’ thinking about how their writing can be improved, sometimes by attending to details such as punctuation, and sometimes by exploring the use of unusual techniques such as stylistic fragments. Review questions, providing an end-of-chapter quiz to help cement the chapter ideas in long-term memory.

Questions for thought and Discussion, a set of questions designed for either in-class discussion or personal response. New to the second editionadditional examples of each device, Longinus, Horace, including from world personalities and the captains of industry More and longer exercises, with a range of difficultyAdvice from classical rhetoricians including Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian.

If you want to improve the appeal and persuasion of your speeches, this is also the book for you. You will also learn about writing styles, authorial personas, and sentence syntax as tools to make your writing interesting and persuasive.

Garner's Modern English Usage

With more than a thousand new entries and more than 2, 300 word-frequency ratios, the magisterial fourth edition of this book-now renamed Garner's Modern English Usage GMEU-reflects usage lexicography at its finest. No matter how knowledgeable you may already be, you're sure to learn from every single page of this book.

Garner illustrates with actual examples, whether in word choice, syntax, punctuation, phrasing, cited with chapter and verse, all the linguistic blunders that modern writers and speakers are prone to, or pronunciation. Garner liberates english from two extremes: both from the hidebound "purists" who mistakenly believe that split infinitives and sentence-ending prepositions are malfeasances and from the linguistic relativists who believe that whatever people say or write must necessarily be accepted.

The judgments here are backed up not just by a lifetime of study but also by an empirical grounding in the largest linguistic corpus ever available. Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary with thoroughness, finesse, and wit. In this fourth edition, garner has made extensive use of corpus linguistics to include ratios of standard terms as compared against variants in modern print sources.

He discourages whatever is slovenly, pretentious, or pedantic. Gmeu is the liveliest and most compulsively readable reference work for writers of our time. It delights while providing instruction on skillful, persuasive, and vivid writing.

Abused, Confused & Misused Words: A Writer's Guide to Usage, Spelling, Grammar, and Sentence Structure

Also included is a collection of one thousand new and inventive words, and nearly thirty thousand more words are discussed in a section dealing with word roots and how they are used in modern language. The english language can be tricky—discover and avoid these common mistakes! is incorrect spelling starting to have a negative affect on your term papers? Do you wonder what someone is inferring when they tell you to pick up a dictionary? Have you been putting bullion in your soup? These are just a few of the commonly misunderstood words discussed and explained in Abused, and Misused Words, Confused, an entertaining and informative look at the ever-changing nature of the English language.

An alphabetical list of words that are frequently misspelled or misused is accompanied by a style guide to usage rules that tells you how and when they can be broken. Anyone who is intrigued by language, who is fascinated by words, or who simply wants to use our language clearly and effectively will enjoy this delightful reference.

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Model Business Letters, Emails and Other Business Documents

For anyone who wants to communicate effectively in business, this is your complete reference guide for any form of written communication. Packed with over 500 sample documents, over 100 tips for better business writing and useful templates you can apply to your writing immediately, Model Business Letters will help you put the key rules of good business writing into action.

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100 Words Almost Everyone Confuses and Misuses

Avoid vocabulary mistakes with this fun guide to tricky and troublesome words! With concise and authoritative usage notes from the editors of the American Heritage® Dictionaries, this guide explains common English-language errors—whether it’s mixing up affect and effect; blatant and flagrant; or disinterested and uninterested, or stumbling over sound-alikes including discrete/discreet or principal/principle.

A great read for anyone who cares about getting it right, 100 Words Almost Everyone Confuses and Misuses can help keep writers and speakers on the up-and-up! . Other notes tackle such classic irritants as hopefully, impact, and aggravate, as well as problematic words like peruse and presently.

The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need: A One-Stop Source for Every Writing Assignment

Whether you're creating perfect professional documents, or effective personal letters, spectacular school papers, you'll find this handbook indispensable. From word choice to punctuation to organization, English teacher Susan Thurman guides you through getting your thoughts on paper with polish. Using dozens of examples, the only grammar book you'll ever need provides guidelines for:understanding the parts of speech and elements of a sentenceAvoiding the most common grammar and punctuation mistakesUsing correct punctuating in every sentenceWriting clearly and directlyApproaching writing projects, whether big or smallEasy to follow and authoritative, The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need provides all the necessary tools to make you successful with every type of written expression.

The only grammar book you'll ever Need is the ideal resource for everyone who wants to produce writing that is clear, concise, and grammatically excellent.

Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing Harvest Book

O’connor uses humor as she takes apart sentences and their parts and shows how each element is used effectively. Booklist. Whether you need to improve your skills for work or school, a grounding in grammar, spelling, or aspire to the Great American Novel, and punctuation is essential—not just to make you look like a professional but to communicate effectively in emails, essays, or anything you need to write.

From the bestselling author of woe is i: A guide to grammar fundamentals that’s sympathetic to the struggling writer and often just plain funny” The Seattle Times. Students writing papers, employees preparing reports, and those who just want to be understood in print may benefit from this fun-to-use answer to Strunk and White.

This painless, snappy chapters, practical book is filled with short, crystal-clear examples, and a “playful sense of humor” The New York Times Book Review—covering everything from “Pronoun Pileups” and “Verbs That Zing” to “What to Do When You’re Stuck. With these simple, straightforward tips, you can learn how to sort your thoughts and make sentences that make sense.

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Eureka!: Discover and Enjoy the Hidden Power of the English Language

Learn the ins and outs of effective written and oral communication through a collection of trivia, anecdotes, lists, puzzles, and practical lessons. Provocative insights into high-stakes forms of communication—speaking, humorous anecdotes, interviewing, coaching, and even romance—are mixed with English language trivia, selling, and unique puzzles.

His inspiring perspective will transform you into a better listener, speaker, writer, and teammate, and it will stimulate some deeper self-observation—a catalyst for improving your own communications proficiency. Eureka! illuminates the oddities, the amusement, and the communication power to be found in the English language.

Instead of highlighting all the mechanics and hairball rules of English, Walker Royce leads you through an educational and entertaining workout of your English knowledge and skills.

Words Gone Wild: Fun and Games for Language Lovers

It also provides a bit of historical and etymological education, the Bible, Shakespeare, with puns from Greek dramatists, George S. Kaufman, and Groucho Marx. A treasury for anyone who enjoys puns, palindromes, droll malapropisms, tongue-twisters, puzzles, limericks, witty anagrams, and all kinds of wordplay! This enlightening and entertaining guide to humorous language is chock-full of comical spoonerisms, and more.

Occasionally bawdy and always playful, Words Gone Wild is a fun-filled volume for anyone who loves language—and laughter. .

The Dictionary of Clichés: A Word Lover's Guide to 4,000 Overused Phrases and Almost-Pleasing Platitudes

And that’s food for thought. Author christine ammer explores the terms that enliven our language, from “blood is thicker than water” to “brass tacks” to “burn the midnight oil. Whether clichés get under your skin or make you happy as a clam, teachers, The Dictionary of Clichés goes the extra mile to provide an essential resource for students, writers, and anyone with a keen interest in language.

The largest, most comprehensive, and most entertaining reference of its kind, The Dictionary of Clichés features more than four thousand clichés and common expressions. An a-to-z guide to thousands of stock phrases and common expressions—with definitions, origins, and more.