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.

About the Author
William Safire (1929-2009), a Pulitzer Prize-winner, was the long-time author of the "On Language" column in the New York Times Magazine.


Book Information
ISBN 9780393327236
Author William Safire
Format Paperback
Page Count 162
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 162g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 124mm * 13mm