Ben Yagoda's How to Not Write Bad illustrates how we can all write better, more clearly, and for a wider readership. He offers advice on what he calls "not-writing-badly," which consists of the ability, first, to craft sentences that are correct in terms of spelling, diction (word choice), punctuation, and grammar, and that also display clarity, precision, and grace. Then he focuses on crafting whole paragraphs—with attention to cadence, consistency of tone, sentence transitions, and paragraph length. In a fun, comprehensive guide, Yagoda lays out the simple steps we can all take to make our writing more effective, more interesting—and just plain better.

These fifty humorous misrules of grammar will open the eyes of writers of all levels to fine style. How Not to Write is a wickedly witty book about grammar, usage, and style. William Safire, the author of the New York Times Magazine column "On Language," homes in on the "essential misrules of grammar," those mistakes that call attention to the major rules and regulations of writing. He tells you the correct way to write and then tells you when it is all right to break the rules. In this lighthearted guide, he chooses the most common and perplexing concerns of writers new and old. Each mini-chapter starts by stating a misrule like "Don't use Capital letters without good REASON." Safire then follows up with solid and entertaining advice on language, grammar, and life. He covers a vast territory from capitalization, split infinitives (it turns out you can split one if done meaningfully), run-on sentences, and semi-colons to contractions, the double negative, dangling participles, and even onomatopoeia. Originally published under the title Fumblerules.

No lecture on technique or the substantive law prepares you for writing bar exam essays like reading and critiquing actual scored essays - both the good essays and the bad ones. All of the sample essays in What Not to Write have been written by bar candidates. Nothing, not even grammar or spelling, has been changed. Through step-by-step instruction, examples, and critiques, What Not to Write gives you insight into and practice writing consistently strong bar exam answers in the allotted amount of time. Authored by the founder and head instructor for LawTutors, a highly respected bar exam preparation program, What Not to Write features: Real essay answers to real bar exam questions; Essays presented are unchanged, as written by bar candidates; Step-by-step guidance on how to successfully write the answer to a bar exam essay question; Opportunities to practice writing bar exam answers in essay form; Exercises in critiquing sample essays-both good and bad ones; Self-critiquing exercise; The authors' critical analysis of both high-scoring and low-scoring essays; Critiques highlight similarities between all bad essays and all good essays; Exam-taking advice and suggestions; A flexible organization from top-scoring essays to lowest-scoring essays, which can, alternatively, be covered from back to front; Rules of law are signposted and explained where applicable.

Ben Yagoda's How to Not Write Bad illustrates how we can all write better, more clearly, and for a wider readership. He offers advice on what he calls "not-writing-badly," which consists of the ability, first, to craft sentences that are correct in terms of spelling, diction (word choice), punctuation, and grammar, and that also display clarity, precision, and grace. Then he focuses on crafting whole paragraphs—with attention to cadence, consistency of tone, sentence transitions, and paragraph length. In a fun, comprehensive guide, Yagoda lays out the simple steps we can all take to make our writing more effective, more interesting—and just plain better.

Your complete preparation for the ACT, now with free online coaching videos! McGraw-Hill’s ACT now revised and improved, gives you more of an edge for when you tackle the exam. It provides sample exams designed to match the real ACT in degree of difficulty, as well as classroom-tested tips and strategies for mastering every question type. Prepare for exam day with 4 full-length practice exams in the book 2 interactive tests online 20 problem-solving videos online by renowned ACT experts Complete coverage of the optional writing test 16-page Welcome section Classroom-tested tips and strategies for mastering every question type 8-week ACT Training Schedule—plus last-minute Emergency Plan

The long-awaited guide to writing long-form nonfiction by the legendary author and teacher Draft No. 4 is a master class on the writer’s craft. In a series of playful, expertly wrought essays, John McPhee shares insights he has gathered over his career and has refined while teaching at Princeton University, where he has nurtured some of the most esteemed writers of recent decades. McPhee offers definitive guidance in the decisions regarding arrangement, diction, and tone that shape nonfiction pieces, and he presents extracts from his work, subjecting them to wry scrutiny. In one essay, he considers the delicate art of getting sources to tell you what they might not otherwise reveal. In another, he discusses how to use flashback to place a bear encounter in a travel narrative while observing that “readers are not supposed to notice the structure. It is meant to be about as visible as someone’s bones.” The result is a vivid depiction of the writing process, from reporting to drafting to revising—and revising, and revising. Draft No. 4 is enriched by multiple diagrams and by personal anecdotes and charming reflections on the life of a writer. McPhee describes his enduring relationships with The New Yorker and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and recalls his early years at Time magazine. Throughout, Draft No. 4 is enlivened by his keen sense of writing as a way of being in the world.