Write Right!: A Desktop Digest of Punctuation, Grammar, and Style

Rating:
Summary: Relief for Beginners
Review: I'm just beginning to teach a freshman writing course at a local college for the first time. Although I have a master's degree in English, I should confess that I've used grammar by "feel." That is to say, I didn't know the rules, but I have read a lot, and I just wrote by instinct. I'm not defending this approach, just explaining!

So now I'm faced with the necessity of teaching grammar to my freshmen students. Alas! After a couple of embarrassing and week lectures, I went to the bookstore to get help. I spent about four hours looking for grammar books I could stand to read myself, and that would help me learn enough to teach my students. Most of the books were very technical and overly-detailed for me, and surely for my students as well. However, I found this book, along with a couple of others that were truly a relief in their clarity, fun approach, and pared down lessons.

So, for anyone else who's just starting out studying grammar, I highly recommend this book. It's simple, relevant, understandable, and whimsical. It's not scary, too technical, and too much information. I don't think you'll be disappointed, unless you really WANT to learn every detail.

Also, the other books I found that were helpful were Grammar for Smart People by Barry Tarshis, and The Everything Grammar and Style Book by Susan Thurman. There's another one called Woe is I that I didn't buy but am thinking about doing so. All of these even look fun, so I brought them in to show my students. I thought perhaps if they saw that grammar books don't have to be boring, boring, and more boring, they might someday possibly maybe consider thinking about buying one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Functional Handling
Review: This edition of the book does not have the spiral back as the older version. As frequently as I use this reference, I would much prefer the spiral back; which last longer and is so much more useful.

Rating:
Summary: Right Smart Writing
Review: Where this book differs from many style manuals is in its light-hearted approach. It features cartoons, quips, ambiguously worded phrases, and clever quotes to reinforce the many valid pointers contained within its pages.

It will not make a successful writer out of an untalented illiterate, (no resource will), but most readers will find a few tips to improve their writing quality. Whether looking for clarification on a particularly sticky dilemma or just in the mood for an intelligent chuckle, Jan Venolia's slim reference warrants a skim.