Comments on: English as she is Wrote

By: Chris Bertram

Chris Bertram — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Not exactly a style guide, but one of the best books of its kind (and written by a sociologist): Howard S. Becker’s Writing for Social Scientists. It is well-written and full of sound advice.

By: John Isbell

John Isbell — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

“Pardon me. I mean, I’ve got a lot up for which to make.” That is the sort of English up with which I will not put.
My own favorite “style guide”, to use that term, is still Fowler’s “Modern English Usage.” It’s rather funny, in a dry sort of way.

By: Tom Runnacles

Tom Runnacles — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I’m a tremendous fan of ‘Grammar and Style: For Examination Candidates and Others’ by the philosopher Michael Dummett. It’s elegant, full of quiet wit, and very clear.

By: Martial

Martial — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

If you staple it to their foreheads so the appropriately sized text is in front of their eyes . . . then they can’t see to type.—-
A professor (philosophy) once told me to write exactly the way I talk. I am certain everyone, including the prof, was delighted that the experiment was brief.

By: Derek Murray

Derek Murray — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

“Pardon me. I mean, Ive got a lot up for which to make.”

You mean “I’ve got a lot for which to make up.” To make up is a phrasal verb, and so “up” should be at the end of the sentence.

Of course, I’m sure a pedant can now find some error in what I’ve written, but that’s life. ;-)

Cheers,

Derek.

By: Bill Kearney

Bill Kearney — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Word usage

Kevin Drum makes an interesting observation on people’s misuse of words. Which leads to nice piece from Kieran as well….

By: Political Animal

Political Animal — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

HOMONYMS….Back when I was VP

HOMONYMS….Back when I was VP of Marketing at Kofax Image Products, I spent a lot of time reviewing and editing other people’s writing. One thing I noticed was that the most common spelling errors were for words that sounded alike,…