6.2 Grammar and Usage (misc.writing Recommended Reading List)
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This article is from the misc.writing Recommended Reading List FAQ, by Terry L Jeffress jeffress@xmission.com with numerous contributions by others.
6.2 Grammar and Usage (misc.writing Recommended Reading List)
Bierce, Ambrose. "Write It Write: A Little Blacklise of Literary
Faults." Toluca Lake, California: Terripam, 1986. ISBN 0-
9617270-0-4, hardcover, 74 pp., $12.95.
A short, dictionary-style guide to word usage that reminds
readers to carefully consider the meaning of the words one
uses and to choose the precise meaning one wants. Although
this might have been a good guide to follow at the end of the
19th Century, today this guide does little more than
illustrate that the English language really does evolve. For
example, Bierce labels the use of "pants" as vulgar and
recommends "trousers" at the acceptable alternative.
I would not recommend this book to any looking for a modern
usage guide. In fact, I don't see a good reason to recommend
"Write it Write", except to linguists studying changes in
English.
-- Terry L Jeffress <jeffress@xmission.com>
Fowler, Henry Watson. "Modern English Usage." 2nd Revised ed.
Oxford University Press, 1983. ISBN 0-192-81389-7, trade
paperback, 725 pp., $12.95.
You either love this one or you hate it. A period piece,
written by an Englishman immediately after the Great War.
Maggio, Rosalie. "The Dictionary of Bias-Free Usage: A Guide to
Nondiscriminatory Language." Oryx Press, 1991. ISBN 0-89774-
653-8, trade paperback, 304 pp., $29.75.
Looks like a good starting place for decisions about some
issues in language.
Miller, Casey, and Kate Swift. "The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing
(For Writers, Editors, and Speakers)." 2nd ed. HarperCollins,
1988. ISBN 0-06-181602-7, softcover.
Offers both general guidelines and many helpful examples.
Strunk and White (and Osgood). "The Elements of Style." 4th ed.
Allyn & Bacon, 1999. ISBN 0-205-30902-X, paperback, 85 pp.,
$6.95.
The classic that can change your life. "Not" a general
reference manual.
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