- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: OUP USA; New Ed edition (23 Jun 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0195090594
- ISBN-13: 978-0195090598
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
56,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #27 in Books > Reference > Language > Handwriting
- #66 in Books > Business, Finance & Law > Management > Management Skills > Communication & Presentation > Writing Guides
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Product Description
Product Description
Many books on writing tell you how to think more creatively, conjure up an idea, and how to express it clearly and elegantly. Many handbooks offer reliable advice on the use of commas, semicolons and so forth. But The New Oxford Guide to Writing does all three, so that no matter where you find yourself in the writing process - from the daunting look as a blank page, to the rough draft that needs shaping, to the small but important questions of punctuation - you will find what you need in one handy all-inclusive volume. Highlighted by numerous examples of successful prose - including marvellous brief excerpts from Mark Twain, Joan Didian, H. L. Mencken, E. B. White and Anne Dillard - this stimulating volume covers the entire subject step by step, clearly and authoritatively. It shows: How to use commonplace books and journals to store ideas, how to brainstorm, how to explore potential topics, sound methods of constructing an outline, the best way to open an essay clearly and interestingly, how to select words that convey both information and point of view ... and much more.
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First Sentence
Often, of course, you are not free to choose at all. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Often, of course, you are not free to choose at all. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An excellent and useful writing tool, this book will assist you in all of your English requirements and aid grammar. A must for English teachers and writers everywhere. This book was recommended by my university tutor who uses it constantly.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
51 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Know all the techniques and why they work. Write with class.
20 July 2001
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
The essential book for writing instructors
6 Feb 2001
Format:Paperback
The New Oxford Guide to Writing is vastly superior to the grammar manuals and reference books that writing instructors usually assign their students. Kane doesn't merely prescribe rules for students to memorize; he imparts genuine understanding of the mechanics and conventions of good prose and takes you through the entire writing process, from facing a blank page to polishing a finished piece. By demystifying this process, Kane's guide empowers students to find their own voices and to keep improving their skills for years to come.
Everyone, from beginner to professional, should have a copy of this book.
36 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Entertaining and useful
23 Nov 1999
Format:Paperback
The entertaining aspect is the quotations illustrating various techniques of style. The useful aspect is the identification of many features of style unnoticed by me.
It may indicate the age of the author that on p. 32 he recommends "If you type .... Keep the keys clean and invest now and then in a new ribbon." He has no special advice for users of a word processor, and I'd guess he never used one. He refers to Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, which gives an idea of how new "new" is.
I'd put this book at a high-school to first-year college level. The author's style is that of a friendly and knowledgable advisor, pedantic at times, but usually not.
I found the examples really made the points, and the overall view of techniques shows what can be done.
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