Sin and Syntax : How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose

Rating:
Summary: grammar and style humorously demystified
Review: Hale gives us a guide to grammar and style that is as fun to read as it is instructive. Occasionally the mirth is a bit strained and tiresome, but better to err on the side of entertainment ....

Divided into chapters on words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections), sentences (subject and predicate, simple sentences, phrases and clauses, and sentence variety) and music (voice, lyricism, melody and rhythm), each chapter is divided into four sections: Bones -- the basics of grammatical usage; Flesh -- putting the grammar into context; Cardinal Sins -- highlighting errors; and Carnal Pleasures -- examples of writing that defy the rules.

The organization is mainly successful and the author uses lots of examples to show both good and bad writing. i learned from the book, re-learned a few things I'd forgotten (when's the last time you saw a sentence diagram?!), and enjoyed the book.

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Summary: The best in the field
Review: I searched for a guide to quickly clean up my prose for several days. My search ended with this book and "Elements of Style". It covered the topics that are required with sufficient depth (that's what the "Chicago Manual of Style" is for) and entertained on a bland subject. Well done.

Rating:
Summary: A witty brush-up on effective writing.
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to improve their writing. It's funny, to the point, and very informative. Constance Hale delivers the information in a witty and upbeat manner, savoring the idea that you can be free to express your inner creativity without being tethered to the strict grammar tree of old. In the end, it's the story that counts, not how harshly you adhere to the rules. As the book states, not only does she show you how to use the rules, but also when it's in the story's best interest to break them. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: A witty brush-up on effective writing.
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to improve their writing. It's funny, to the point, and very informative. Constance Hale delivers the information in a witty and upbeat manner, savoring the idea that you can be free to express your inner creativity without being tethered to the strict grammar tree of old. In the end, it's the story that counts, not how harshly you adhere to the rules. As the book states, not only does she show you how to use the rules, but also when it's in the story's best interest to break them. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Grammar . . . and so much more!
Review: It's not often that a grammar book causes grins, giggles, even guffaws, but Constance Hale's Sin and Syntax is not an ordinary grammar book. The entertaining examples, from sources as diverse as Mark Twain, the Bible and wine bottle labels, illustrate the "bones," "flesh," "cardinal sins," and "carnal pleasures" of each grammatical point. After Sin and Syntax, I read children's books from a new perspective. Good preschool books are often peppered with action verbs, strong adjectives and elegant simplicity. Best of all, this grammar book inspired me to start writing again! Choosing the right word is now a puzzle to be solved, and creativity oozes from every email I send.

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Summary: A Overlooked Book for Writers
Review: Many of the books for writers will repeat what other books about writing have said about point of view and what to do about writer's block--so if you've read one how to write book, you've read them all. Sin & Syntax gives the aspiring writer tons of examples of top fiction, true, it is arranged by grammar, but that makes it even better to get down to the bones.

Rating:
Summary: A welcome difference
Review: Most grammar books are dry, able to put you to sleep at 20 paces. This one is not. I found it fun to read. I have recently started graduate school. I found that I had to write a number of papers for each class. Since it has been awhile since I had to worry about commas, semi-colons, and the difference between which and that I needed a good reference book. I picked this one and I use it every time I write a paper.

Rating:
Summary: A clever, and entertaining way to reinforce the concepts
Review: of English grammar. I'm not wizard of grammar, but I aspire to be, and this book is a nice step in that direction.
Sure, it cannot be compared to serious study in school, but this is significantly more encompassing as it takes an approach that aims to convey, not "condition."
What I aim to communicate is that this is a fun way to learn about grammar.

Rating:
Summary: Wickedly Funny
Review: Sin and Syntax is the most entertaining grammar book you'll ever pick up. www.home.earthlink.net/~bbeamguard

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Summary: WHERE WAS THIS BOOK WHEN WE WERE KIDS?
Review: SIN AND SYNTAX should be a text in high school English classes. A generation of enthusiastic grammarians might rise up and wipe out the scourge of dangling modifiers. The mystery of lay and lie would be be solved at last. I teach adults how to turn their great ideas into the novels they've always wanted to write; and while the refinements of plot and character and theme are fairly simple to explain, grammar and syntax bedevil student and (this) teacher alike. But no more. With humor, clarity and excellent contemporary examples, this book helps me explain to my students why, after half a dozen rewrites, their sentences still sing off key, why I nag them about details, why some adjectives work and others just take up space on the page. A great resource book.