Dreyer's English

Author: Benjamin Dreyer
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0812995716
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A sharp, funny grammar guide they’ll actually want to read, from Random House’s longtime copy chief and one of Twitter’s leading language gurus NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine • Paste • Shelf Awareness “Essential (and delightful!)”—People We all write, all the time: books, blogs, emails. Lots and lots of emails. And we all want to write better. Benjamin Dreyer is here to help. As Random House’s copy chief, Dreyer has upheld the standards of the legendary publisher for more than two decades. He is beloved by authors and editors alike—not to mention his followers on social media—for deconstructing the English language with playful erudition. Now he distills everything he has learned from the myriad books he has copyedited and overseen into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best prose foot forward. As authoritative as it is amusing, Dreyer’s English offers lessons on punctuation, from the underloved semicolon to the enigmatic en dash; the rules and nonrules of grammar, including why it’s OK to begin a sentence with “And” or “But” and to confidently split an infinitive; and why it’s best to avoid the doldrums of the Wan Intensifiers and Throat Clearers, including “very,” “rather,” “of course,” and the dreaded “actually.” Dreyer will let you know whether “alright” is all right (sometimes) and even help you brush up on your spelling—though, as he notes, “The problem with mnemonic devices is that I can never remember them.” And yes: “Only godless savages eschew the series comma.” Chockful of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts, this book will prove to be invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people’s prose, and—perhaps best of all—an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language. Praise for Dreyer’s English “Playful, smart, self-conscious, and personal . . . One encounters wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of Dreyer’s English.”—The Wall Street Journal “Destined to become a classic.”—The Millions “Dreyer can help you . . . with tips on punctuation and spelling. . . . Even better: He’ll entertain you while he’s at it.”—Newsday

The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself

Author: Susan Bell
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393332179
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
An intimate, lively guide to the magic and mechanics of editing by a veteran editor and writer, this book explores the many-faceted and often misunderstood--or simply overlooked--art of editing.

Dreyer's English

Author: Benjamin Dreyer
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812985710
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Dreyer's English (Adapted for Young Readers)

Author: Benjamin Dreyer
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN: 0593176839
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Adapted from the New York Times bestseller by Random House's longtime copy chief, this informative and witty guide to writing and grammar, written especially for a younger audience, entertains as well as instructs. Full of advice, insider wisdom, and fascinating facts, this book will prove to be invaluable to anyone who wants to be confident in their writing skills, or anyone who enjoys the power of language. Explored throughout are the mysteries of using punctuation, word choice decisions, and more, presented in a clear, concise and accessible manner made fun! Praise for the New York Times bestseller DREYER'S ENGLISH: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine,Paste, and Shelf Awareness "Essential (and delightful!)" --People "Playful, smart, self-conscious, and personal . . . One encounters wisdom and good sense on nearly every page." --The Wall Street Journal "Destined to become a classic." --The Millions "Dreyer can help you . . . with tips on punctuation and spelling. . . . Even better: He'll entertain you while he's at it." --Newsday

All the Words

Author: Kristen Tate
Publisher: The Blue Garret
ISBN: 1734574208
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
If you read one book about writing every week for a year, what would you learn? Thanks to the self-publishing revolution and events like National Novel Writing Month, the genre of writing craft books has exploded in recent years. Book editor Kristen Tate set out to read and review one writing advice book each week for a year, from classics like E. M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird to newer works like Jane Alison’s Meander, Spiral, Explode and Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. What she discovered was a dizzying array of approaches to writing: plotters who know even the smallest details about characters before they write a word; pantsers who blithely dive right into a draft without a plan; anti-adverb crusaders and advocates for complex sentences; and, always, that the best way to learn is to read the kinds of books you want to write. All the Words is also a meditation on the challenges and pleasures of starting and sustaining a weekly practice of reading, thinking, and writing. It’s an optimistic, encouraging book that will motivate you to keep reading and, most importantly, keep writing.

Radical Reporting

Author: Sara I. James
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000578399
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Book Description
Most people dread writing reports; they also dread reading reports. What they don’t realize is that the techniques that make writing more readable make it more powerful. This is especially relevant for professionals in areas such as audit, risk, compliance, and information security. This small volume provides the tools and techniques needed to improve reports. It does so through addressing crucial concepts all too often overlooked in the familiar rush to perform tasks, complete projects, and meet deadlines. These concepts – the role of culture in communication; the link between logic and language; the importance of organizing thoughts before writing; and how to achieve clarity – may seem academic or theoretical. They’re not. Unless writers understand their own thoughts, actions, and objectives, they cannot hope to communicate them at all – let alone clearly.

Writing Errors and Their Ways

Author: Philip J. Skerry
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1475872844
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 133

Book Description
This book examines errors in writing from several different perspectives. The most important perspective is contextual: what may be an error in one kind of writing may not be an error in another kind. Another perspective is a hierarchical one: some errors are more significant than others. A third perspective deals with genres such as fiction vs. nonfiction, written vs spoken language. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on Standard Written American English (SWAE), which is presented as the gold standard of writing. Other factors that affect writing errors are examined in detail, such as the role of social movements and trends. Examples are drawn from the LGBTQO community and the roles of social media. Throughout the text, errors are presented, along with grammatical explanations and correction strategies. The book takes into consideration that language and language standards change, as exemplified by the upheaval in pronoun usage tied to dramatic changes in gender roles and identities.

Says Who?

Author: Anne Curzan
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0593444094
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
A kinder, funner usage guide to the ever-changing English language and a useful tool for both the grammar stickler and the more colloquial user of English, from linguist and veteran professor Anne Curzan “I was bowled over, page after page, by the author’s fine ear for our language and her openhearted erudition. I learned a lot, and I couldn’t have enjoyed myself more.”—Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer’s English Our use of language naturally evolves and is a living, breathing thing that reflects who we are. Says Who? offers clear, nuanced guidance that goes beyond “right” and “wrong” to empower us to make informed language choices. Never snooty or scoldy (yes, that’s a “real” word!), this book explains where the grammar rules we learned in school actually come from and reveals the forces that drive dictionary editors to label certain words as slang or unacceptable. Linguist and veteran English professor Anne Curzan equips readers with the tools they need to adeptly manage (a split infinitive?! You betcha!) formal and informal writing and speaking. After all, we don’t want to be caught wearing our linguistic pajamas to a job interview any more than we want to show up for a backyard barbecue in a verbal tux, asking, “To whom shall I pass the ketchup?” Curzan helps us use our new knowledge about the developing nature of language and grammar rules to become caretakers of language rather than gatekeepers of it. Applying entertaining examples from literature, newspapers, television, and more, Curzan welcomes usage novices and encourages the language police to lower their pens, showing us how we can care about language precision, clarity, and inclusion all at the same time. With lively humor and humanity, Says Who? is a pragmatic and accessible key that reveals how our choices about language usage can be a powerful force for equity and personal expression. For proud grammar sticklers and self-conscious writers alike, Curzan makes nerding out about language fun.

Intralingual Translation of British Novels

Author: Linda Pillière
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350151882
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Book Description
Building on an upsurge of interest in the Americanisation of British novels triggered by the Harry Potter series, this book explores the various ways that British novels, from children's fiction to travelogues and Book Prize winners, have been adapted and rewritten for the US market. Drawing on a vast corpus of over 80 works and integrating the latest research in multimodality and stylistics, Linda Pillière analyses the modifications introduced to make British English texts more culturally acceptable and accessible to the American English reader. From paratextual differences in cover, illustrations, typeface and footnotes to dialectal changes to lexis, tense, syntax and punctuation, Pillière explores the sociocultural and ideological pressures involved in intralingual translation and shows how the stylistic effects of such changes – including loss of meaning, voice, rhythm and word play – often result in a more muted American edition. In doing so, she reveals how homing in on numerous small adjustments can provide fascinating insights into the American publishing process and readership.

Good Grammar [Grades 6-12]

Author: Matthew Johnson
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1071947389
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
Modernize grammar instruction with language lessons that inspire and engage students! Grammar and language instruction has long been, in the words of Brock Haussamen in Grammar Alive!, "the skunk at the garden party of the language arts" that turns many eager learners into disengaged participants. This type of disengagement, and resulting student struggles, have long been the norm, not the exception, when it comes to grammar and language lessons. But why? Why does grammar—something so relevant and essential that we use it in the creation of every syllable we say, write, or think—often end up as one of the dullest and most disconnected parts of the ELA classroom? Good Grammar: Joyful and Affirming Language Lessons That Work for More Students seeks to answer that question and to offer practical, on-the-ground solutions for making grammar and language instruction more accessible, practical, and connected to students’ reading, writing, and most importantly, the deep well of language knowledge they bring with them already. At the core of the book are six key practices for creating language instruction that comes across clearer, sticks better, transfers easier, and ultimately instills a love of language, all while teaching major grammatical concepts. Written by a practicing classroom teacher, this book offers Ready-to-go lessons and a recommended sequence Explanation of essential grammar and language concepts for teachers who need to refresh their own understanding of grammar and language topics and concepts Over a hundred modern, engaging, wide-ranging, and diverse mentor text examples Suggestions on how to introduce important linguistic concepts into secondary classes, including lessons about how language develops; how to define, examine, and celebrate dialects/familects/idiolects; and protocols for discussing concepts like code-meshing and "correctness" Examination of broader trends concerning what works and what doesn’t work in regards to grammar and language instruction, with a goal of giving teachers the tools they need to create their own grammar and language curriculum that engages, inspires, and transfers more easily into student writing and life beyond the classroom walls. The title—Good Grammar—seeks to remind us that grammar doesn’t have to be boring or feel punitive. Instead, it can be a force for good for more students, affirming who they are, honoring the language expertise they bring with them, and helping them to bring their unique voices to the page.