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.

Crammed with crucial facts, ideas, and warnings never before brought together into clear focus, this guide is not only fun to read, but also work-boots practical. Not only inspiring, but pinch-penny accurate, it is an energizing tonic for writers' weary brain cells. *Lightning Print On Demand Title

"What do you think of my fiction book writing?" the aspiring novelist extorted. "Darn," the editor hectored, in turn. "I can not publish your novel! It is full of what we in the business call 'really awful writing.'" "But how shall I absolve this dilemma? I have already read every tome available on how to write well and get published!" The writer tossed his head about, wildly. "It might help," opined the blonde editor, helpfully, "to ponder how NOT to write a novel, so you might avoid the very thing!" Many writing books offer sound advice on how to write well. This is not one of those books. On the contrary, this is a collection of terrible, awkward, and laughably unreadable excerpts that will teach you what to avoid—at all costs—if you ever want your novel published. In How Not to Write a Novel, authors Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman distill their 30 years combined experience in teaching, editing, writing, and reviewing fiction to bring you real advice from the other side of the query letter. Rather than telling you how or what to write, they identify the 200 most common mistakes unconsciously made by writers and teach you to recognize, avoid, and amend them. With hilarious "mis-examples" to demonstrate each manuscript-mangling error, they'll help you troubleshoot your beginnings and endings, bad guys, love interests, style, jokes, perspective, voice, and more. As funny as it is useful, this essential how-NOT-to guide will help you get your manuscript out of the slush pile and into the bookstore.

Writing a medical paper, or any other scientific text, is full of pitfalls which make it difficult to get it accepted for publication. This unique book gives practical advice on how one can circumvent these dangers. It is richly filled with examples, predominantly negative ones. which exhibit how one should not write a medical paper. This book highlights the fallibilities that manuscripts are often susceptible to, and hence will help writers avoid committing those mistakes. Special Features: Abundant information about a complex subject condensed in a small format Numerous examples from bad manuscripts to drive home concepts Practical advice on mistakes to be avoided Explanation of the fate of a manuscript after its submission and, eventually, acceptance, to help writers understand expectations and responses Lucid language, and enjoyable read This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in scientific publishing. Junior medical scientists (independent of specialty), experienced scientists who wish to venture as authors, reviewers, and even editorial personnel can refer to the book time and again.