My go-to grammar and sensitivity guide | Exercise Book for Working with Words: A Handbook for Media Writers...

A Media Writer Must-Have | Exercise Book for Working with Words: A Handbook for Media Writers and Editors | Brian S. Brooks, James L. Pinson, ...

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	• Exercise Book for Working with Words: A Handbook for Media Writers and Editors Brian S. Brooks, James L. Pinson, ... Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002 - 135 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

well written and clear

This is simply the best single text on writing. It is well written and clear. It covers all the aspects of mechanics that are necessary for good writing. It also gives the necessary teaching about proper grammar. There are many good (as well as confusing) books on the market about this topic, but, for me, this is the "writing bible." I have multiple copies of this book so I can loan them out from time to time, but I also have a personal copy at home as well as at work that no one gets to "touch" except me. I recommend this text to all my students.

My go-to grammar and sensitivity guide

I haven't found a better one yet. Not that you'd want to curl up with it, or anything. The most useful part is the chapter on "-isms" by Jean Gaddy Wilson.

Imagine my suprise as a college journalism student to discover the racist term "spearchucker" was NOT considered OK for publication. Really? It said right there in the "S" section: "Do not use." And you know what? That stuck with me. I've written thousands of articles and have never used it once. But it ain't just racism that's covered. Get ready to learn how to control your inherent ageism, you durn kids. "Well-preserved," for instance, is an "offensive phrase applied to women and senior citizens; avoid." Also, "without rhythm," is a stereotype that implies whites can't dance, which angers me, a white man who can really cut a rug. On the other hand, "with rhythm" is also defined as an offensive stereotype for African-Americans, implying they are able to dance, and to dance well. This leaves me confused. Is it good or bad to have rhythm? Should we just avoid the whole topic of rhythm? I suppose so.

Other specified terms to avoid: buxom, foxy, fragile, full-figured, wetbacks, wench, white bread, wheat bread (just kidding, you can use wheat bread) trollop, tart, loose woman, hussy, wop, dago, working man, workmen's comp.

Yep, you read it right. A newspaper lede that reads, "ROME--The Wop president yesterday sacked four top cabinet officials as his government came under increasing attack for blah blah blah....." just doesn't cut it in the professional world of journalism.

Thanks to this fine book, there will no longer be any confusion about that.

(This text refers to the 1993 ed.)

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A Media Writer Must-Have

This book always with me in addition to my AP Stylebook. It's wonderfully helpful in all areas of writing, including glossaries of confused words, hyphenation as a spelling problem, and a glossary of common redundancies. They even have a section on American versus British spelling. I don't understand how someone couldn't find helpful information in this book, it tells you very plainly what is right and wrong. (I'm looking two examples in the book right now, one labeled RIGHT, one labeled WRONG) How anyone would be confused with the information is beyond me. This is a must have resource.

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A great English grammar bible

I have a tore up version of this book from my college days! It's the 1993 version, but I use it frequently. This book is a great tool on grammar that explains things simplisticly. Whether you are looking for answers on where to put an apostrophe or whether a comma goes inside or outside of quotation marks, this book will tell you in simple terms. Love it!!

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