Grand themes and complex plots are just the beginning of a great piece of fiction. Mastering the nuts and bolts of grammar and prose mechanics is also an essential part of becoming a literary artist. This indispensable guide, created just for writers of fiction, will show you how to take your writing to the next level by exploring the finer points of language. Funny, readable, and wise, this book explores the tools of the fiction writer's trade, from verb tenses to pronouns to commas and beyond. Filled with examples from the best-seller lists of today and yesterday, it will help you consider the hows and whys of language, and how mastery of them can be used to achieve clarity and grace of expression in your own work.
Here, you'll find
Encouragement and advice to face the big questions: Past or present tense? Comma or semicolon? Italic or roman? Should your dialogue be phonetically rendered, or follow standard rules of grammar? (And where does that pesky quotation mark go, again?)
Warning signs of the betrayal of language, and ways to avoid it: Unwitting rhymes, repetition, redundancy, cliche, and the inevitable failure of vocabulary
How-to (and how-not-to) examples: The grammatical "mistakes" of Charles Dickens; ambiguous pronoun usage by Nathaniel Hawthorne; the minefield of paragraph fragments found in one of today's most successful authors

"An original and absorbing guide to English style. Get it if you can."-Wall Street Journal Say it with style-on paper or in person. This book explains why the best writing sounds that way, with hundreds of examples from Lincoln, Churchill, Douglass, and other masters of the language. As Farnsworth says, "Explaining a precept may take just a few words, but only examples can make it familiar to the ear. So we will consider examples from writers and orators who all have lessons to teach." Farnsworth shows how small choices about words, sentences, and paragraphs put force into writing and speech that have stood the test of time. What was the secret? Knowledge of choices in the selection of words, the arrangement of sentences, the creation of a cadence. Now that knowledge can be yours through hundreds of examples of the very best use of rhetorical devices, classical cadence patterns, hyperbole and much more. This is must for anyone who wants to speak or write with clear, persuasive, enjoyable, unforgettable style. "A storehouse of effective writing, showing the techniques you may freely adapt to make music of your own."-The Baltimore Sun

Write in Style is aimed at everyone for whom clarity and accuracy of expression are important skills. Accessible and often entertaining, this book offers sound, practical advice on all types of writing from essays and articles to minutes and reportage. The main areas covered are:
*sentences, punctuation and paragraphs
*finding and using the right style
*how to write essays, reports, minutes and summaries
*a comprehensive guide to English grammar
This new edition includes a revised and expanded section on report writing, and a new chapter on writing and computers. Each section includes illustrations, examples and exercises to help you put the techniques and skills into practice.
Write in Style is the ideal guide for A-level and undergraduate students, and for professionals who want to improve their English.

The ultimate editing handbook, updated for the digital age The Australian Editing Handbook has become an industry standard, recommended by the Society of Editors, and holds a prominent place on the shelves of writers, editors and students alike. Authors Elizabeth Flann, Beryl Hill and Lan Wang have assembled a comprehensive guide to every aspect of the editing process, from working with authors and receiving manuscripts, to editorial, production, printing and beyond. The modern editor must go beyond editing and proofreading, and is often tasked with obtaining permissions, sourcing supplementary material and keeping the author on schedule and on budget. That means the editor is also the ultimate mediator of style and propriety for the piece, acting as gatekeeper between the author and the public. It's a substantial role, requiring the fundamental knowledge of several different fields to achieve effective results. A guide to managing each aspect of the job, The Australian Editing Handbook is an invaluable resource. The Third Edition includes updated information about the new challenges that editors face in the digital age, including: Editing on-screen Digital publishing Handling ebooks Print media versus online publications The book includes two-color printing to make editing marks easier to understand, and a wealth of charts and diagrams that simplify complex topics and serve as handy quick-checks that make this guide the ultimate desk reference. For professionals and students in the field of editing, writing, publishing or journalism, The Australian Editing Handbook, 3rd Edition is the industry's number-one resource.

Longtime manuscript editor and Chicago Manual of Style guru Carol Fisher Saller has negotiated many a standoff between a writer and editor refusing to compromise on the "rights" and "wrongs" of prose styling. Saller realized that when these sides squared off, it was often the reader who lost. In her search for practical strategies for keeping the peace, The Subversive Copy Editor was born. Saller's ideas struck a chord, and the little book with big advice quickly became a must-have reference for copy editors everywhere. In this second edition, Saller adds new chapters, on the dangers of allegiance to outdated grammar and style rules and on ways to stay current in language and technology. She expands her advice for writers on formatting manuscripts for publication, on self-editing, and on how not to be "difficult." Saller's own gaffes provide firsthand (and sometimes humorous) examples of exactly what not to do. The revised content reflects today's publishing practices while retaining the self-deprecating tone and sharp humor that helped make the first edition so popular. Saller maintains that through carefulness, transparency, and flexibility, editors can build trust and cooperation with writers. The Subversive Copy Editor brings a refreshingly levelheaded approach to the classic battle between writers and editors. This sage advice will prove useful and entertaining to anyone charged with the sometimes perilous task of improving the writing of others.

Written collaboratively by writing instructors at the Queen's University Writing Centre, A Writer's Handbook is a compact yet thorough guide to academic writing for a North American audience. This clear and concise handbook outlines strategies both for thinking assignments through and for writing them well.

The Antiracist Writing Workshop is a call to create healthy, sustainable, and empowering artistic communities for a new millennium of writers. Inspired by June Jordan's 1995 Poetry for the People, here is a blueprint for a 21st-century workshop model that protects and platforms writers of color. Instead of earmarking dusty anthologies, imagine workshop participants Skyping with contemporary writers of difference. Instead of tolerating bigoted criticism, imagine workshop participants moderating their own feedback sessions. Instead of yielding to the red-penned judgement of instructors, imagine workshop participants citing their own text in dialogue. The Antiracist Writing Workshop is essential reading for anyone looking to revolutionize the old workshop model into an enlightened, democratic counterculture.

Leading scientists are identified as much by their ability to communicate ideas and results as by the quality of their research. Ideas and results that are not communicated effectively will not contribute to new knowledge, so it is important that scientists learn to improve their communication skills. There are many types of scientific communication, the principal ones being journal papers and popular science articles, as well as oral and poster presentations at scientific meetings. In each case, the ABC of science communication is that it should be Accurate and Audience adapted, Brief and Clear. presentations so that your message can be transmitted clearly and concisely to the reader or listener. Techniques for improving your writing, literature searching and training students in communication are also discussed. In this revised edition a few more topics have been added, such as electronic submission of manuscripts, writing statistics, and writing research proposals. research results, experienced scientists wanting to make their communications more effective, university students at all levels, and teachers involved in the instruction of communication skills.

According to common wisdom, we all have a book inside of us. Every author calls on, crystallizes, and shades his or her life experiences to craft fiction, whether they're writing world-bending sci fi or a thinly veiled autobiography. It is precisely those most conflict-ridden moments of our lives--the tragedies, humiliations, and terrors--that shape the best stories. But how do we select and then write our most significant story--the one that helps us to evolve and invites pure creativity into our lives; the one that people line up to read? In Rewrite Your Life, creative writing professor, sociologist, and popular fiction author Jess Lourey guides you through the redemptive process of writing a healing novel that recycles and transforms your most precious resources--your own emotions and experiences.

This fact-to-fiction process provides not only the essential building blocks of best-selling novels, but is also personally transformative. Based on the process the author developed and field-tested in the wake of her husband's suicide, Rewrite Your Life is devoted to the practice of discovering, healing, and evolving through fiction writing. It combines research, practical and engaging guidance, and personal experience to meet readers where they are and take their creativity and personal growth to the next level.

Tender, raw, and laugh-out-loud funny, Rewrite Your Life offers both a map and a compass for those seeking to harvest their life experiences to heal, lead a more authentic life, and craft a rich, powerful work of fiction.

Now in its fourth edition, Television and Screen Writing: From Concept to Contract is a classic resource for students and professionals in screenwriting and television writing. This book will teach you how to become a creative and marketable writer in every professional arena - including major studios, production companies, networks, cable and pay TV, animation, and interactive programs. Specific techniques and script samples for writing high-quality and producible "spec" scripts for theatrical motion pictures, the sitcom series, one-hour dramatic series, longform television, soaps, talk show, variety, animation, interactive and new media are provided. Television and Screen Writing: From Concept to Contract, Fourth Edition also offers a fully detailed examination of the current marketplace, and distinct strategies for marketing your scripts, from registering and copyrighting the script to signing with an agent.

This new edition has been expanded to include the most up-to-date creative and professional script samples, marketing resources, and practical information possible. The companion website (www.focalpress.com/companions) offers a wide range of contacts and resources for you to explore, and Internet links to professional resources. There is also an Annotated and Selected Bibliography for your reference
Covers all aspects of scriptwriting, from visuilization to marketing
New information on competitions, festivals, and workshops
Now includes internet sources for screenwriters

A good research paper is more than just a clear, concise, scientific expose. It is a document that needs to go beyond the science to attract attention. There are both strict and less definable norms for doing this, but many authors are unaware as to what they are or their use. Publishing is rapidly changing, and needs to be explained with a fresh perspective. Simply writing good, clear, concise, science is no longer enough-there is a different mind-set now required that students need to adopt if they are to succeed. The purpose of this book is to provide the foundations of this new approach for both young scientists at the start of their careers, as well as for more experienced scientists to teach the younger generation. Most importantly, the book will make the reader think in a fresh, creative, and novel way about writing and publishing science. This is an introductory guide suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professional researchers in both the life and physical sciences.

Taking Control of Writing Your Thesis offers a clear account of the how, what, why and who of working together so that you can produce, finish and submit a successful thesis. Guccione is a Thesis Coach and Thesis Mentoring Programme Designer and is currently researching the barriers to thesis completion; Wellington has supervised and examined numerous dissertations at MA and doctoral level. They draw on these experiences throughout in providing you with expert guidance for your thesis, informed by real student testimonies and with 'Points to Ponder' and a wealth of online resources to support you along the way. Guccione and Wellington show that planning, writing and support for thesis writers is a collaborative venture but also one which you can take ownership of and manage. They show that there are ways to become more connected to what and who you need, and explore the collegial and peer-support structures that are there to be utilised. They situate the student within an educational context viewing them not as the lone researcher able or not able, skilled or unskilled, but as the navigator of the writing process. The authors draw on their experience to provide ways of thinking, and tools for empowering students to feel more in control of the practices of writing about research.

This handy guide offers a complete introduction to the craft of travel writing and shows unpublished writers how to identify suitable markets for their work and persuade editors to take a chance on them. It asks the all-important question, 'What is travel writing?' It analyzes your different genre options and explores ways to come up with great ideas and pitch them successfully. There is a strong emphasis on dissecting the technical aspects of creating fresh and vivid prose, including the art of writing unputdownable openings, compelling descriptions and authentic quotes. The book assesses whether and how even novices can make travel writing pay, and delves into the brave new world of blogging. Contains fascinating interviews with key travel writing figures, including the guidebook publisher Hilary Bradt and acclaimed travel writer Will Gray. By appraising extracts from the works of such renowned writers as Gerald Durrell, Peter Matthiessen and Redmond O'Hanlon, as well features from key publications such as Lonely Planet and National Geographic Traveller magazines, the book illustrates exactly what makes memorable writing - and what doesn't.

Winner, 2019 Global Legal Skills Book Award, given by the Global Legal Skills Conference An essential handbook for international lawyers and students Focusing on vocabulary, Essential Legal English in Context introduces the US legal system and its terminology. Designed especially for foreign-trained lawyers and students whose first language is not English, the book is a must-read for those who want to expand their US legal vocabulary and basic understanding of US government. Ross uses a unique approach by selecting legal terms that arise solely within the context of the levels and branches of US government, including terminology related to current political issues such as partisanship. Inspired by her students' questions over her years of teaching, she includes a vast collection of legal vocabulary, concepts, idioms, and phrasal verbs and unpacks concepts embedded in US case law, such as how the US constitutional separation of powers may affect a court's interpretation of the law. The handbook differentiates basic terms in civil and criminal cases and compares terms that may seem similar because of close spellings but in fact have different meanings. For instance, what is the distinction between "taking the stand" and "taking a stand?" What is the difference between "treaties" and "treatises"? Featuring illustrations and hands-on exercises, Essential Legal English in Context is a valuable self-study resource for those who want to improve their legal English terminology before entering a US law school, studying US law or government, or working as a seconded attorney to a US law firm. Instructors can use the handbook in an introductory US legal English course.

How do we properly define cultural appropriation and is it always wrong? If we can write in the voice of another, should we? And if so, what questions do we need to consider first? In Appropriate, creative writing professor Paisley Rekdal addresses a young writer to delineate how the idea of cultural appropriation has evolved-and perhaps calcified-in our political climate. Rekdal examines the debate between appropriation and imagination, exploring the ethical stakes of writing from the position of a person unlike ourselves. What follows is a penetrating exploration of fluctuating literary power and authorial privilege, about whiteness and what we really mean by the term "empathy". Rekdal offers a study of techniques, both successful and unsuccessful, that writers from William Styron to Peter Ho Davies to Jeanine Cummins have employed to create characters outside their own identities. Lucid, reflective and astute, Appropriate presents a generous new framework for one of the most controversial subjects in contemporary literature.

Where do writers learn their best moves? They use a technique that Roy Peter Clark calls X-ray reading, a form of reading that lets you penetrate beyond the surface of a text to see how meaning is actually being made. In THE ART OF X-RAY READING, Clark invites you to don your X-ray reading glasses and join him on a guided tour through some of the most exquisite and masterful literary works of all time, from The Great Gatsby to Lolita to The Bluest Eye, and many more. Along the way, he shows you how to mine these masterpieces for invaluable writing strategies that you can add to your aresenal and apply in your own writing. Once you've experienced X-ray reading, your writing will never be the same again.

When the editors of two of the most prominent medical journals in the world--the "New England Journal of Medicine" and the "Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)"--were fired in the same year, under circumstances that ranged from acrimonious to politically sensational, media attention again focused on biomedical publication. The controversy highlighted yet another ethical dimension of scientific research and its publication, topics that have generated intense scrutiny in recent years. As research funding has become scarcer and competition fiercer, with links between scientific discovery and commercial applications increasingly tighter and more lucrative, allegations of misconduct have also increased. Universities and research institutions, notably the NIH, have created offices of scientific integrity and mandated educational programs to investigate such allegations and to train researchers in the highest standards of sound, ethical scientific research.

Focusing on publication ethics as an essential aspect of responsible scientific conduct, "Ethical Issues in Biomedical Publication" examines a variety of troublesome issues, including authorship, peer review, repetitive publication, conflict of interest, and electronic publishing. The contributors include the editors of distinguished biomedical journals (among them, past or present editors of "Academic Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, British Medical Journal, JAMA, " and the "Lancet"), humanities scholars, scientists, lawyers, and a university administrator. Chapters address specific ethical issues and offer recommendations for preventing or solving problems associated with them. The result is a book that will serve as a standard reference for biomedical researchers, authors, editors, and teachers of research ethics.

"Educators, administrators, scientists, editors, and students should all welcome this comprehensive new book. Anne Hudson Jones and Faith McLellan have gathered a veritable who's who in the field of publication ethics for biomedical research. All those with a stake in biomedical research will surely want this volume on their bookshelf."--from the Foreword by Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., President, Association of American Medical Colleges

This book is also available through the Introductory Engineering Custom Publishing System. If you are interested in creating a course-pack that includes chapters from this book, you can get further information by calling 212-850-6272 or sending email inquiries to engineerjwiley.com. Good writing is brief and clear. This new edition of the popular handbook offers updated, practical advice on writing effective letters, reports, and memos, while retaining the easy-to-read format that made the first edition so popular. Presents examples of good writing to serve as models and also shows what to avoid. Includes illustrations (many more than in the 1st edition) of many types of good writing, culled from diverse sources. There is new material on writing minutes, news releases, resumes, and style guides. The section on writing reports has been thoroughly revised--every phase from initial organization to final selection of style has been updated to reflect modern practice. Suitable for classroom use or self-study.

There are a number of books which aim to help doctoral researchers write the PhD. This book offers something different - the scholarly detox. This is not a faddish alternative, it’s not extreme. It’s a moderate approach intended to gently interrupt old ways of doing things and establish new habits and orientations to writing the PhD.

The book addresses the problems that most doctoral researchers experience at some time during their candidature – being unclear about their contribution, feeling lost in the literature, feeling like an imposter, not knowing how to write with authority, wanting to edit rather than revise. Each chapter addresses a problem, suggests an alternative framing, and then offers strategies designed to address the real issue.

Detox Your Writing is intended to be a companionable work book – something doctoral researchers can use throughout their doctorate to ask questions about taken-for-granted ways of writing and reading, and to develop new and effective approaches.

The authors’ distinctive approach to doctoral writing mobilises the rich traditions of linguistic scholarship, as well as the literatures on scholarly identity formation. Building on years of expertise they place their emphasis both on tools and techniques as well as the discursive practices of becoming a scholar.

The authors provide a wide repertoire of strategies that doctoral researchers can select from, rather than a linear lock step progression through a set of exercises. The book is a toolkit but a far from prescriptive one. It shows that there are many routes to developing a personal academic voice and identity and a well-crafted text. With points for reflection alongside examples from a broad range of disciplines, the book offers thinking tools, writing tools, linguistic tools, and reading tools which are relevant to all stages of doctoral research.

This practical text can be used in all university doctoral training and composition and writing courses. However, it is not a dry how-to-do–it manual that ignores debates or focuses solely on the mechanical at the expense of the lived experience of doctoral research. It provides a practical, theorised, real-world, guide to postgraduate writing.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Understanding the doctoral game 3. Beginning literature work 4. Finding your place 5. Learning to argue 6. Performing your research 7. Structuring the thesis 8. Writing the researcher into the text 9. Revising the first draft 10. Writing as the expert scholar References

Whether you're writing a paper, essay, assignment, or dissertation, this short and punchy book helps you improve your writing skills through minimal effort. Providing you with a quick set of writing rules to follow, this tried and tested guide uses a unique and easy to follow grid-based system. Packed with advice on understanding (big and little) common errors made in academic writing, it helps you identify patterns in your own writing and demonstrates how to reshape or re-evaluate them - and raise your writing game in any academic context. How-to tutorials include: Synthesizing and critiquing literature - and using your coding sheet to develop critical arguments Shaping abstracts, introductions, discussions, and conclusions - to improve the logic and structure of your writing Applying lessons-learned to future projects, whatever format of academic writing. Save time and improve your grades, with this essential quick fix guide! The Student Success series are essential guides for students of all levels. From how to think critically and write great essays to planning your dream career, the Student Success series helps you study smarter and get the best from your time at university.

Complete your thesis or dissertation successfully: Practical guidelines provides fundamentally important information to students of the social sciences completing their master's or doctoral studies, as well as to their supervisors and study leaders. Eminent scholars have contributed to the book and have created a text that is easy to read and use, yet does not water down the conceptual and terminological complexities of the process. For the very first time the most recent and current perspectives on how to complete master's or doctoral studies have been brought together in one publication that will equip relatively inexperienced researchers to write a thesis or dissertation.

A thoroughly revised and updated classic. This step-by-step guide takes masters and doctoral students through the five stages of writing a thesis or dissertation: preparing the way, choosing and defining research topics, collecting and organizing information, interpreting the results, presenting the finished product. The authors have successfully led hundreds of graduate students through the masters theses and disseration process. This comprehensive guidebook includes helpful checklists, multiple examples, and practical strategies. It covers both qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research.

Are you looking to find your voice, hone your writing tactics, and cultivate communication skills with impact? Using real-world cases, student vignettes, and reflective questions, Lynn leads you through the A to Zen of the writing process, building your confidence as well as developing your skills. Find out how to: Understand yourself, your audience, and your project, so you better understand your role in communicating research Choose a question and plan an appropriate design Build a foundation of ethics and background research into your writing practice Find your own writing (life)style Work with your supervisor, so you can get the best from the relationship Navigate structure, arguments, and theory, for deeper critical engagement Contextualize your research and maximize its impact. Going beyond the standard 'how to survive' advice, this inspiring writing guide empowers you to develop the voice, tone, and critical engagement required for you to thrive at Master's level SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!

As advanced composition continues to grow as an important sub-area of rhetoric and composition, it becomes increasingly more important for scholars and teachers to have access to key studies produced in the field. Providing a comprehensive overview of significant work on the theory and pedagogy of advanced composition generated between 1980 and 1995, this collection contains 24 essays and articles previously published in major scholarly books and journals.
Divided into four major areas, this book:
* explores how individuals and institutions over the last 15 years have constructed advanced composition courses and programs,
* attempts to articulate what distinguishes advanced composition courses, students, and pedagogies from those commonly encountered in first-year composition,
* outlines specific pedagogies for advanced composition, and
* investigates how scholarship can inform advanced composition and examines several political and ethical issues.
The essays presented here chronicle composition's struggle to define and construct an appropriate writing course on the advanced level. Although these essays have clear historical value -- in that together they trace attempts to come to terms with advanced composition -- they also have implications for future work in the area. They suggest how educators might continue to draw on scholarship both within and outside of composition to investigate relevant theoretical issues and to construct effective advanced pedagogies.

Good writing engages as it informs and feature journalism offers writers the opportunity to tell deep, affecting stories that look beyond the immediate mechanics of who, what, where and when and explore the more difficult-and more rewarding- questions: how and why? Whether you're a blogger, a news journalist or an aspiring lifestyle reporter, a strong voice and a fresh, informed perspective remain in short supply and strong demand; this book will help you craft the kind of narratives people can't wait to share on their social media feeds. Writing Feature Stories established a reputation as a comprehensive, thought-provoking and engaging introduction to researching and writing feature stories. This second edition is completely overhauled to reflect the range of print and digital feature formats, and the variety of online, mobile and traditional media in which they appear. This hands-on guide explains how to generate fresh ideas; research online and offline; make the most of interviews; sift and sort raw material; structure and write the story; edit and proofread your work; find the best platform for your story; and pitch your work to editors. 'A wide-ranging, much-needed master class for anyone who tells true yarns in this fast-changing journalistic marketplace' - Bruce Shapiro, Columbia University 'Useful and thought provoking' - Margaret Simons, journalist and author 'A must read for any digital storyteller who wants to write emotive, engaging, believable content.' - Nidhi Dutt, foreign correspondent