Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media? Do the kids today even care about good writing? Why should any of us care? In The Sense of Style, linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker answers these questions and more. Rethinking the usage guide for the 21st century, Pinker doesn't carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of...

Charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime example. Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communication with each other than we might think. She argues that even the most...

"Language columnist June Casagrande presents a fun and breezy guide to everything a grown-up interested in grammar needs to know. When it comes to grammar, it seems like everyone--even die-hard word nerds--feel they "missed something" in school. The Joy of Syntax picks up where sixth grade left off, providing a fresh foundation in English syntax served up by someone with an impressive record of making this otherwise inaccessible subject a true joy....

"A linguistic exploration of the speech habits we love to hate-and why our "um"s, "like"s, and "you know"s actually make us better communicators. Do you hate that you say "like" too much? Do you go over your email drafts to remove excess "so"s and "really"s? Do you wish your presentation at work wasn't so full of "um"s and "uh"s? Do you get tripped up by slang, overly familiar greetings, or new pronouns? What if these features of our speech weren't...

A style manual for English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic identifies the common mistakes and correct usage of everything from dangling participles to transitive verbs.

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting to engage reluctant readers! Come along with me and learn all about reading! Brian P. Cleary's wacky sentences and Jason Miskimins's colorful art will make phonics fun! Find activities, games, and more at www. brianpcleary. com.

The original edition of the most trusted writer's guide to American English, this is the book that generations of writers have relied upon for timeless advice on grammar, diction, syntax, sentence construction, and other writing essentials. In brief and concise terms, author William Strunk, Jr., identifies the principal requirements of proper American English style and concentrates on the most often violated rules of composition. Originally published...

This fifth edition has entries for over 10,000 new words and terms, offers the latest research on word origins and meanings, and provides guidelines on accurate usage.

"Following the success of Quadrivium, Sciencia, and Designa in the acclaimed Wooden Books series, Trivium is a compendium of writings on the classical subjects at the heart of a liberal education, bringing the wisdom of the past into the twenty-first century. The trivium refers to the three liberal arts considered in classical Greece to be the pillars of critical thought: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Following on the success of Quadrivium and Sciencia,...