Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing

Many writers view style as a dreaded Bermuda Triangle-they have no idea how to improve anything they have written. This book dispels much of that mystery, using the findings of modern linguistics to explore the relationship between written and spoken voices and to uncover little-known ways to control rhythm and emphasis. With a focus on sound and voice, author Joe Glaser explains and illustrates measurable, non-subjective keys to good writing-an approach that yields practical writing techniques and advice rarely found elsewhere. An excellent choice for courses in advanced composition, the book also covers more standard topics such as economy, diction, coherence, and variety-along with abundant open-ended exercises drawn from business, history, popular science, and other areas. Each chapter includes a final, quick-reference summary and a "Your Writing" assignment that readers can apply directly to their own work. Updated throughout, the second edition emphasizes word processing and Internet resources and includes a new chapter on subjects and predicates. The book also features a glossary of writing terms, a brief dictionary of usage, a guide to punctuation, and a detailed index. Exercises, sample answers, analytical tools, writing links, and other helpful aids are available on the author's website at http://www.wku.edu/-joe.glaser/style%20home%20page.html.