The New Oxford Guide to Writing

Among the books suggested for purchase with this product, some will have ambitious--nay, misleading--titles such as: "The Only Book You Will Ever Need for Writing" or "The One-Stop Composition Handbook." We are aware: this is a marketing tactic. The judicious reader-consumer expects the content--useful as at may be--will not justify the title; seldom are those expectations contradicted.This book--"The New Oxford Guide to Writing" by Thomas S. Kane--however, could have been given such a title. Kane offers suggestions and examples for the whole writing process. He covers the initial stages of brainstorming and the final stages of composition. Organization of paragraphs and construction of sentences are discussed; he provides examples from various authors, topics, and expository mediums. In addition, Kane includes suggestions for style, such as figures of speech and rhetorical devices. It is not comprehensive treatment, for these are subjects unto themselves. Yet, the suggestions are useful and to be noted: literary and rhetorical style distinguishes great writing from good writing. Kane also provides suggestions for narrative and descriptive writing, which all --whether creative or quarterly report writers--can use to create organized, engaging text . Lastly, Kane reviews both formal and stylistic punctuation.Not only creative writers or students will benefit but also those in business, legal, and management settings will as well.A few suggestions:For those interested in rhetorical style and figures I recommend "Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric." It reviews about twenty of the most common and practical rhetorical figures ( or devices). The rhetorical figures are illustrated with excerpts from the writing/speeches of admired English language writers/speakers ( e.g. Lincoln, Dickens, Shakespeare, etc...)For those interested in sentence styling and who believe that the sentence is the most important unit of composition: consider "The Art of Styling Sentences." Like the recommendation above, it makes use of examples from varied sources to illustrate.For those interested specifically in business writing: "Writing that Works; How to Communicate Effectively in Business" is recommended.Clarity, precision, organization and concision are elements of effective and productive business writing. This books reviews these aspects and offers suggestions for improvement.

This is the best book on writing I've read so far. It would be more precise to say this is a book on how to dress your thoughts in words most effectively.I still remember an illustrative example somewhere in the initial pages. What is not so good about the sentence "She dresses in a beaatuful manner" ?. Well, it becomes more effective when written as "She dresses beautifully". In the long phrase "in a beautiful manner", the focus is dissipated over many words. Whereas, "beautifully" compresses meaning in one word and what's more, it sits at the end of the sentence, tending to stay in the reader's mind longer.The book is full of such fine points and subtle techniques. Kane has taken a wonderfully orderly approach to teaching the writing process right from the basic element - the sentence, to the whole picture - the essay. Gradually building layer on layer, you see how the parts make the whole and how different aspects of writing contribute to the reader's final experience.There are many meaningful exercises that will make you understand the huge number of tehcniques. Another important feature of the book is its examples of different types and styles of writing taken from a wide range of well known authors -Bertrand Russell, Samuel Johnson, E B White, Virginia Woolf, G K Chesterton, H G Wells, Mark Twain and so on. Kane takes each excerpt from these authors and explains why they work.With a little effort, you can start writing almost as well as them, at least you'll know how those great authors thought before penning their ideas.The book is set in very eye-pleasing font and well presented. Get the hardback if you can. If you're really interested in writing, this is a book you'll want to treasure.

I like books about writing, probably because I'm so damned lousy at it. So I enjoy ruffling through the Reference Section at bookshops. But mostly it's a disappointing experience. Writing is not about telling, it's about showing. It should be transformational, not transactional. Sadly many authors blabber... page after page, paragraph after paragraph, like an old broken record without care that anyone will ever listen. And don't get me started on the "Write your book in 6 months" titles - what a load of bull. This book, however, does everything a writer's companion, dare I say mentor, should do: it explains everything with crystal clarity, it provides prodigious examples, it then explains the crafting of these examples, and finally sets down tasks for you to practice and practice and practice. I particularly benefited from the advanced sentence structures. Kane has written a superb book on writing. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Good

Great

Perfect size!

It is helping me learn some valuable lessons in the mechanics of good writing. I'm learning things I plan to put into practice in my writing.

Crucial tool for all English writers.A great writing companion. Wish I had this long ago.

judging by the first couple of chapters—and a skim through various other sections—it is an engaging and informative read. good value for money.

We use this book as our course handbook at university. It’s been so helpful while doing the course and I’m so glad that I bought it because apparently our library hardly ever has it in

The only technical book a serious writer ever needs. A boon!

Finde das Buch super! Inhaltlich genau,was ich gesucht habe, und ich bin schon fast etwas geschockt, dass es - sowiet ich weiss- keine Neuauflage gibt; Sign of the times??Das Buch ist in einwanfreiem Zustand, natürlich etwas gealtert, was mich aber keinesweg stört. 4 Sterne nur,weil es eben etwas lang gedauert hat.

This Oxford Guide to Writing provides lots of useful pragmatical, grammatical, stylistic suggestions to everyone who must write for academic, professional or own reasons.