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Spelling rules – how to understand them

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Spelling – definition

Spelling is a convention by which words are represented in writing by letters of the alphabet.

The spelling of most words is now largely fixed.

The relationship between spelling and pronunciation is not consistent.

Examples

The term connection can also be spelled connexion.

Judgement can also be spelled Judgment.

Even spelled can also be spelled spelt!

Use

Competence in spelling is desirable, but we cannot possibly know the definitive spelling of all the English lexicon.

Good spelling usually results from an awareness of those words which we need to check in a dictionary.

Computer spell-checkers are an enhancement to the writing process. They should be used with caution however, as some errors are those of wrong word rather than of spelling.

For instance, ‘They took there places’. The spell-checker would let that pass.

NB! Shakespeare used a variety of spellings for his own name.

Spelling was not generally fixed in English until the eighteenth century. [Samuel Johnson’s dictionary was a landmark in this respect.]

The following example is from a poem written in the seventeenth century, showing the original spelling of what we would now write as dearly, fain, and enemy:

Yet dearley I love you, and would be loved faine,
But am betroth’d unto your enemie

[JOHN DONNE]

Spelling mistakes in formal writing create a very bad impression.

Some words may have more than one acceptable spelling:

connection can be spelled connexion
judgement can be spelled judgment

Certain organisations such as newspapers and publishers issue rules on spelling for their authors. This is known as House Style.

Spelling in English does have rules — but there are many exceptions and irregularities. The plural of baby is babies but the plural of donkey is donkeys. We write about honour but the adjective is spelled honorary.

Even the verb ‘to spell’ itself may be spelled or spelt in the past tense.

The reason for this irregularity is that English vocabulary is made up of many other languages [Old English, Latin, Greek, and French]. Words from these languages have brought their own spelling characteristics.

There are minor differences in the spelling of English and American English. Colour is color in the USA, and centre is spelled [or spelt!] center.

There is no easy way to learn correct spelling. Rules exist, but there are many, many exceptions. You should simply take an interest in the words themselves.

On the question of possible spelling reform, the American writer Mark Twain has some typically humorous comments to make.

A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling

For example, in Year 1 that useless letter ‘c’ would be dropped to be replased either by ‘k’ or ‘s’, and likewise ‘x’ would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which ‘c’ would be retained would be the ‘ch’ formation, which will be dealt with later.

Year 2 might reform ‘w’ spelling, so that ‘which’ and ‘one’ would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish ‘y’ replasing it with ‘i’ and Iear 4 might fiks the ‘g/j’ anomali wonse and for all.

Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants.

Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez ‘c’, ‘y’ and ‘x’ — bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez — tu riplais ‘ch’, ‘sh’, and ‘th’ rispektivli.

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

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Structure – how to understand it

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Structure in grammar – definition

The term ‘structure’ refers to the basic construction or the arrangement of parts in a communication — spoken or written.

In the study of language, the term is being used metaphoricaly.

Examples

The events of a novel or a play may be arranged in a linear, chronological order to reflect the passing of time. They might on the other hand be arranged so that the end reflects the beginning, presenting a cyclic structure.

The structure of the English language is its grammar system with discernable patterns such as that of word-order and rules for forming tenses.

The structure of a conversation might be fairly random or planned, depending on the level of formality and the purpose of the discourse.

An interview might follow the chronology of a candidate’s curriculum vitae, or it might be structured by a series of questions.

The structure of a business document might be determined by the route taken by information as it passes through an organisation. On the other hand, it might reflect the stages of a manufacturing process.

The structure of a poem can often be seen in its rhyme scheme and the arrangement of its verses.

Use

People structure the content of their speech spontaneously, without any need for deliberate planning.

The same is not true for writing, where conscious effort is required.

An awareness of the concept of structure in language use is essential to the speaker or the writer, the listener or the reader.

Structure can be based on such elements as chronology, alphabetical order, recurring themes, logical sequence of content, and visual layout.

NB! Readers and speakers are affected by structure, even though they may not be conscious of it.

The structure of a text or of a spoken item is its foundation. Structure when applied to the English language as a system is its grammar.

It might be useful to distinguish structure from form in terms of linguistic analysis. The term ‘form’ refers to the finished article as a recognisable artifact such as a novel, report, letter, recipe, sermon, statement, or greeting.

A letter, for example, has a structure based on the patterning of both its content and its layout. The content is structured according to the convention of giving information in the following order:

sender’s address
date of writing
vocative opening (‘Dear Sir’)
content in order of importance
conventional salutation (‘Best wishes’)
signature of writer

The structure of the content is complemented by the layout in a conventional letter. The content is organised on the page in a well known pattern.

Even if a person were twelve feet away from the text it would be recognisable as a letter form — because of the structure of the layout.

In any text, the content must be organised according to some logical premise. Information which is not consciously structured is disjointed, haphazard, and therefore usually incomprehensible. Efficient communication in speech and writing depends to a great extent on the existence of structure.

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Style – how to understand it

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Style – definition

Style is a particular set of characteristics in the use of language.

These characteristics are the result of choices which may be made consciously or unconsciously.

The results are speech or writing which may be efficient, idiosyncratic, identifiable, or memorable.

Examples

The following are examples of good style in instructional writing and prose fiction:

Instructional writing
When approaching a roundabout, watch out for traffic already on it. Take special care to look out for cyclists or motorcyclists ahead or to the side. Give way to traffic on your right unless road markings indicate otherwise; but keep moving if the way is clear.

Prose fiction
Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

Use

The term ‘style’ is usually used in a positive sense to praise what are seen as good qualities.

Even bad style may be identifiable – if it is consistent.

Good style is often easy to recognise, but quite difficult to analyse.

It may be used and perceived – unconsciously.

NB! We all use a variety of language styles every day, especially in speech.

One very important feature of good style is that it must be entirely appropriate for the task it is performing.

This means that the author must take into account [even if unconsciously!] audience, form, and function.

Style might be good, yet hardly noticeable – because it is concentrated on effective communication. This is sometimes known as ‘transparent’ good style.

The first of the examples above is from The Highway Code.

When approaching a roundabout, watch out for traffic already on it. Take special care to look out for cyclists or motorcyclists ahead or to the side. Give way to traffic on your right unless road markings indicate otherwise; but keep moving if the way is clear.

This is writing which is makes its points as simply and as clearly as possible. The vocabulary is that of everyday life, and in manner it is speaking to a general reader without trying to make an impression or draw attention to itself in any way.

This writing is entirely free of literary effects or decoration.

In most writing however, ‘good style’ is normally associated with verbal inventiveness and clever manipulation of the elements of literary language.

The second example is from Vladimir Nabokov’s famous novel Lolita:

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

This is writing which is deliberately setting out to be impressive. It relies very heavily on decoration and ornament.

In this extract Nabokov uses lots of alliteration – the repetition of the ‘l’ and ‘t’ sounds, metaphor – ‘light’ and ‘fire’ – and onomatopoeia – ‘trip’, ‘tap’ – as well as such fancy wordplay as the orthographic and semantic parallels between ‘life’ and ‘fire’.

Good style in speech and writing – like that in clothes or other matters involving taste – can go in and out of fashion.

Style in context. Style, in any kind of speech or writing, is extremely important to the overall function of communication. In most cases, a consistency of features produces what we understand as a pleasing style. That is, the style is appropriate to the context in which it occurs.

A discordant style is produced by the inclusion of some feature which does not fit with the stylistic context of the piece. In other words, the feature is out of place.

An example of this might be found in a personal letter which is signed ‘Yours faithfully’ or an aristocratic character in a novel speaking street slang for no good stylistic reason.

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Stylistic analysis – how to do it

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Stylistic analysis – definition

Stylistic analysis in linguistics refers to the identification of patterns of usage in speech and writing.

Stylistic analysis in literary studies is usually made for the purpose of commenting on quality and meaning in a text.

Examples

A stylistic analysis of a roadsign which reads NO LEFT TURN might make the following observations.

The statement is a command.
It is cast in the imperative mode.
The statement lacks a subject and a verb.
These are implied [THERE IS].
The statement is unpunctuated.
Capitals have been used for emphasis.
Simple vocabulary to suit wide audience.
Extreme compression for rapid comprehension.
Form entirely suited to audience and function.

Use

In linguistics the purpose of close analysis is to identify and classify the elements of language being used.

In literary studies the purpose is usually an adjunct to understanding, exegesis, and interpretation.

In both cases, an extremely detailed and scrupulous attention is paid to the text.

This process may now be aided by computer programs which able to analyse texts.

NB! At this point, the study of language moves into either ‘stylistics’ or ‘literary studies’.

Stylistic analysis is a normal part of literary studies. It is practised as a part of understanding the possible meanings in a text.

It is also generally assumed that the process of analysis will reveal the good qualities of the writing.

Take for example the opening lines of Shakespeare’s Richard III:

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

A stylistic analysis might reveal the following points:

the play is written in poetic blank verse
that is — unrhymed, iambic pentameters
the stresses fall as follows
Now /i/s the w/i/nter /o/f our d/i/scont/e/nt
[notice that the stress falls on vowel sounds]
the first line is built on a metaphor
the condition of England is described in terms of the season ‘winter’
the term ‘our’ is a form of the royal ‘we’
the seasonal metaphor is extended into the second line …
… where better conditions become ‘summer’
the metaphor is extended even further by the term ‘sun’
it is the sun which appears, ‘causing’ the summer
but ‘sun’ is here also a pun – on the term ‘son’…
… which refers to the son of the King
‘York’ is a metonymic reference to the Duke of York

In a complete analysis, the significance of these sylistic details would be related to the events of the play itself, and to Shakespeare’s presentation of them.

In some forms of sylistic analysis, the numerical recurrence of certain stylistic features is used to make judgements about the nature and the quality of the writing.

However, it is important to recognise that the concept of style is much broader than just the ‘good style’ of literary prose.

For instance, even casual communication such as a manner of speaking or a personal letter might have an individual style.

However, to give a detailed account of this style requires the same degree of linguistic analysis as literary texts.

Stylistic analysis of a non-literary text for instance means studying in detail the features of a passage from such genres as:

Instruction	notes for programming your video-recorder
Information	a history text book
Persuasion	an advertisement or a holiday brochure

The method of analysis can be seen as looking at the text in great detail, observing what the parts are, and saying what function they perform in the context of the passage.

It is rather like taking a car-engine to pieces, looking at each component in detail, then observing its function as the whole engine starts working.

These are features which are likely to occur in a text whose function is to instruct:

imperative or command	‘remove the outer covering’

direct address	‘check voltage system before you install the unit’

numbered points	[because sequencing is important in carrying out a procedure]

technical terms or jargon	‘piston’, ‘carburettor’, ‘spark plug’

diagram with call-out labels	[an extra level of communication to aid understanding]

Features are dealt with in three stages, as follows:

identify — describe — explain

The features chosen from any text will be those which characterise the piece as to its function. They will be used by the analyst to prove the initial statement which is made about the linguistic nature of the text as a whole.

This method puports to be fairly scientific. A hypothesis is stated and then proved. It is a useful discipline which encourages logical thought and can be transferred to many other areas of academic study.

This is one reason why the discipline of stylistic analysis is so useful: it can be applied to a variety of subjects.

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Text – how to understand it

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Text – definition

Text literally means ‘a piece of writing’.

It has now acquired the meaning ‘the object being studied’.

Examples

Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House is a text.
A letter from the Gas Board is a text.
The caption to a picture is a text.
A painting by Picasso can be a text.

Use

The term is most used in literary studies, where it was originally used as a synonym for ‘book’.

But it could just as easily be a poem, a letter, or a diary.

It is now in general use in other branches of the humanities such as cultural studies and film studies – where its meaning becomes ‘the thing being studied’.

So — in these other fields it could also be a video film, an advertisement, a painting, or a music score.

It is used so as to concentrate attention on the object being studied, rather than its author.

The term ‘text’ is most likely to mean a piece of writing which is the subject of study.

It is important to remember those elements which are the substance of textual analysis.

These are all relevant to analysing a text or piece of writing.

audience form function genre

layout subject structure style

syntax tone vocabulary

The term ‘text’ is used in other areas of enquiry to mean ‘the item being studied’.

This contemporary usage reflects a concentration on the object of study, rather than on its author.

This is another point at which the study of language blends into literary studies or ‘critical theory’.

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The Designer

July 17, 2009 by Roy Johnson

fifty years of change in image, training, and techniques

Rosemary Sassoon is a distinguished authority on typography, writing, and education – with publications as diverse as Computers and Typography, Signs, Symbols and Icons, and Handwriting of the Twentieth Century. What marks her out from many other writers on these issues is that she tends to test her ideas in the classroom – either by designing fonts to assist children’s reading [Sassoon Primary] or researching how children learn to write. It was she who came up with the observation that the way children hold a pen has no relation to or effect on the clarity of their writing.

Her latest book is about the development and training of designers over the last half century. She begins just after the end of the second world war, when although design was harnessed to promote post-war recovery, designers were regarded as second-class citizens. The Festival of Britain (1951) did little to change matters, even though the exhibition was successful. Designers were labelled ‘commercial artists’. Now, fifty-odd years on, some designers are better known than [‘fine’] artists. How times change.

She considers the neglect of drawing skills in design training and sees this as a sad loss which began with the encouragement of ‘conceptual’ design in the 1970s – one which has accelerated with the arrival of computer-assisted deign (CAD).

Much of the evidence she produces for the changes in design education comes from interviews with professional designers and teachers who look back on their own educational history. Common themes include regret at the demise of the apprenticeship system; scepticism regarding the use of computers in the teaching of typography; regret that design students often avoid theory; and despair over class sizes which during this period have risen from 15-20 to 100+ – a phenomenon which results in such practices as ‘hot-desking’ and ‘elearning’ to cope with these numbers and spread scarce resources further and further.

The second part of the book is a series of essays on contemporary issues and prospects for the future written by distinguished practitioners. They reflect on their own professional development and the manner in which teaching design has changed all over the world in the last fifty years.

Then in the third part of the book (and I have to say its the best-written and illustrated) Rosemary Sassoon reflects on her own experience and practice as a designer. She went through quite a random but eminently practical training as a calligraphist and a textile designer. She gives a first hand account of what practical commercial design involved – working with different types of printing and reproduction, then negotiating with clients and sales representatives.

In a quite amazing career where one thing led to another, she became a regularly published writer on typography, a teacher, a government consultant on writing, with particular reference to children and stroke victims, and a book designer. And one supposes she will go on this way until one day she joins the Big Design Studio in the sky.

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Rosemary Sassoon, The Designer: half a century of change in image, training, and techniques, Bristol: Intellect, 2008, pp.144, ISBN: 1841501956

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The History and Power of Writing

July 5, 2009 by Roy Johnson

the printed word from antiquity to the present

I’m amazed this book isn’t better known – though I’ve only just discovered it myself. The History and Power of Writing is a majestic, scholarly, and multi-disciplined study of the history of writing. Henri-Jean Martin traces the development of writing from Mesopotamia in 5,000 BC to digital technology of the last two decades. The history is recounted in astonishing detail, and the pace is quite slow. You will have to be a patient reader. He traces how writing styles changed according to the implements used; how the writing surface was made from papyrus, parchment, and paper; and how ‘books’ were assembled in the form of the scroll, the volumen, and then the codex.

All these apparently simple technological changes produced immense social effects – all of which he examines in impressive detail. He also reveals the relationship between speech, reading, and writing, which until fairly recently was more complex than we might imagine. There were, for instance, three ways of reading a text for Latin scholars – silently (rare) as a form of sub-vocalised or murmured speech (common), and reading out loud (most common).

His study takes in wide-ranging aspects of classical antiquity – politics, commerce, jurisprudence, scholarship, literature, plus anything else which has left traces of its history in the form of writing, such as taxation and legal contracts.

There are all sorts of unforeseen spin-offs and intellectual byways – ecclesiastical practises, medieval poetry recitations, the development of the postal service, tax systems, plus the history of the Bible and the development of Christianity.

One of his key arguments is that all sorts of other developments led up to the invention of printing: the creation of the ‘new’ universities in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; the development of new paper-making techniques; plus copperplate engraving. And the volume of closely referenced evidence he brings to bear to support his arguments is so overwhelming, it would be a brave scholar who challenged any of his claims.

Even taking the translation into account, he takes no prisoners so far as his intellectual pitch is concerned:

Like cuneiform characters, hieroglyphs can have the value of ideograms, phonograms, or determinatives. The sign for the sun-god provides a simple example. Since the ideogram (the solar disc) might cause confusion because it also meant ‘day’ and was thus a polyphone, two phonograms were added to it, a human mouth for r and a forearm in profile for the aspirated laryngeal consonant ayin, thus providing the consonantal skeleton of the name (a third and final consonant was left out).

Nevertheless, this certainly ranks alongside Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy and Jay David Bolter’s Writing Space as a seminal text on the nature of writing. If there’s a single weakness, its the shortage of illustrations.

As soon as the printed book becomes the most popular vehicle for writing to circulate, the subject expands to include typography, page design, book structure, and even the ideology of font sets,
This in its turn leads on to printing, publishing, and the book trade in general, plus a consideration of reading habits, of pirating works, and of censorship.

There’s a whole chapter devoted the contents of Renaissance libraries, which books people actually read, the establishment of private libraries throughout Europe, and even speculations about the manner in which people did their reading:

Petrarch devoutly kissed his copy of Virgil before opening it; Erasmus did the same for his Cicero; and in the evening, when he had finished his day’s work, Machiavelli put on his best clothes to read his favourite authors.

In the ‘modern’ period (1500—1800) the forms and functions of writing are firmly wrapped up in finance and trading, ecclesiastical history and public records.

You’ve got to be prepared for lots of political, social, and economic history – but this is what gives the book its depth, because this material provides the background and reasons for changes in writing, reading, and literacy in general.

There are also detours into related areas. His account of the nineteenth century for instance is largely concerned with the development of printing technology, the reproduction of illustrations and photographs, and most of all, the development of the press as a vehicle for independent criticism of the state.

When we reach the twentieth century this generalised approach to communication spreads out even wider to include telegraphy, stenography, audio recording, moving pictures, and eventually, in rapid succession, radio, television, and the computer. Although Martin looks in detail at the problems of information overload created by new media, he rather tantalisingly stops short of the explosion of the last fifteen years since the development of the Web.

This is a panoptic and encyclopedic study, any one of whose myriad side issues could fill a normal-sized book. It ought to be more widely known amongst scholars. If you don’t yet know it, a treasure trove of history and idea lies waiting for you.

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Henri-Jean Martin, The History and Power of Writing, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995, trns. Lynda G. Cochrane, pp.591, ISBN 0226508366

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Tone – how to understand it

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Tone – definition

To the linguist [or speech therapist] ‘tone’ means the quality of sound produced by the voice in uttering words.

In a general sense, ‘tone’ is the attitude of the speaker or writer as revealed in the choice of vocabulary or the
intonation of speech.

This attitude might be immediately apparent — in tone of voice, for instance.

It might on the other hand be a complex and subtle manner which takes time to establish — in an extended piece of writing, for instance.

Examples

Written or spoken communication might be described as having a tone which is, for instance:

ironic serious flippant

threatening light-hearted pessimistic

Use

Tone is used to convey an attitude. This may be done consciously or unconsciously.

It could be said that there is no such thing as a text or verbal utterance without a tone.

In most cases, tone is either taken for granted, or perceived unconsciously.

NB! Tone is sometimes difficult to describe and analyse. It’s a subtle and complex matter.

Tone, taken at its most literal, is a feature of non-verbal communication. It is the physical level at which the sound of the human voice is transmitted.

Linguists and speech therapists chart intonation patterns by a system of marks on the page to suggest the rising and falling of the voice tone.

Intonation is the term by which we refer to the patterns of sound which are evident in every utterance. We sometimes use the term ‘monotone’ to imply an absence of intonation. This usually suggests some negative state of mind on the part of the speaker.

Every language has its standard set of intonation patterns. These have to be learnt by the non-native speaker as an essential constituent of the transmission of meaning.

The intonation patterns of a language are the first things a child learns in its progress as a speaker. They are the first elements a child selects from the body of ‘comprehensible imput’ which is necessary to trigger the acquisition process.

Interestingly, intonation is a difficult hurdle for the second-language learner. It seems that the intonation of one’s own native language becomes deeply internalised, and the ability to hear the intonation of a second language is not as sharp as it is in a young child.

We can, perhaps, appreciate these difficulties if we take the single word ‘hello’ and consider the variations possible in expressing it to imply an attitude. [This isn’t easy to reproduce on screen, but bear with us.]

‘Hello, hello, hello.’ stereotype policeman

‘Hello?’ ‘Is anyone there?’

‘Hello!’ ‘At last I’ve found it!’

‘Hello!’ ‘Here we go again!’

‘Hello!’ ‘Fancy meeting you.’

and of course…

‘Hello!’ Greeting a friend

Even a non-verbal utterance such as a cough or a clearing of the throat can be eloquent by means of its tone. An example of this is the cough which says ‘Be careful! People are listening in to what you’re saying’. A slightly different cough acts as a warning not to go any further with an action or an utterance.

Intonation as part of literary writing is conveyed often by narrative description as in:

‘Oh Jeremy!’ she exclaimed in a shocked tone.

‘Jeremy!’ she screamed, as she saw him leap from the parapet.

As practised readers, we infer the tone of literary dialogue without the explicit narrative description used in the first example given above. We hear the delivery in our mind’s ‘ear’ as clearly as we hear it in reality when taking part in a dialogue ourselves.

Tone is perhaps applied more widely in an almost metaphoric sense to convey a whole attitude. For instance we might receive a letter from someone expressing the sentiment that they had trusted us, but felt let down by something we had done. The letter might have an ironic tone, or an angry tone, or an indignant tone.

Tone in this sense is conveyed by an amalgam of choice of vocabulary and syntax on the part of the writer. For the reader, this selection creates an imaginary audible impression, as the tone is heard in the mind’s ear.

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Writing – how to understand it

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Writing – definition

Writing is the use of visual symbols which act as a code for communication between individuals or groups.

Writing and speech are the two main language varieties.

Examples

Writing is a material form of communication which can comprise:

handwriting on paper
carving on wood, stone, or metal
electronic writing on screen or disk
printed lettering on public signs

Use

Writing and speech should usefully be regarded as two entirely separate systems.

Writing has to be acquired as a skill in the same way as driving, sewing and cooking are learnt.

Speech is acquired by means of innate programming, in the same way as we grow taller or acquire a second set of teeth.

The code of written language consists of letter-forms [the alphabet] used to form a visual approximation of spoken words.

These words are formed in accordance with the conventions of spelling, then combined using the rules of grammar and syntax to form meaningful statements.

Writing is a code or a set of symbols which serve to produce material forms of communication.

It is interesting to consider the differences between speech and writing:

Writing can be preserved indefinitely, whereas speech is transient unless it is deliberately recorded.

Writing is usually a solitary act of communication, whereas speech is a social act.

Writing expects a delay in reply, whereas speech usually solicits an immediate response.

Writing does not contain non-verbal gesture, whereas speech employs non-verbal gesture constantly.

Writing is often drafted, so that the audience receives an edited version. With speech, the audience hears the first attempt with all its faulty starts, hesitations, contradictions and corrections.

Writing is pre-planned, whereas speech is usually spontaneous.

Writing and speech have discrete functions in society. Speech is more appropriate for some purposes, whereas writing is more appropriate for others.

a lengthy shopping list is better written down
a job interview is better conducted verbally, but accompanied by written notes
a wedding invitation is usually written because it contains lots of factual details

No language can have an exact correlationship in terms of its speech and its writing. English is no exception to this principle.

It is important to appreciate [and worth repeating] that writing is an arbitrary code and as such is learnt separately from speech.

A competent literate person usually has little difficulty in reading, comprehension, or pronunciation.

One important reason for the disparity between pronunciation and spelling is the fact that written language stays relatively fixed, whereas the spoken language is always developing rapidly.

The spoken language is alive, and therefore grows and develops from moment to moment. Pronunciation styles alter and shift, as does the lexicon of the language. Terms and idioms are imported from various societies whose pronunciation differs greatly from our own.

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Writing skills bibliography

October 27, 2009 by Roy Johnson

David Acres, Passing Exams Without Anxiety, Oxford: How to Books, 5th edn, 2000, ISBN: 1857032691. Study skills tips for examinations up to undergraduate level. Includes advice on writing under pressure.

Robert Allen, Punctuation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.128 , ISBN 0198604394. Beginner’s guide, covering all the basics. Shows how common marks of punctuation should be used.

Robert Allen, Spelling, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.128, ISBN 0198603835. Cheap and cheerful beginner’s guide, covering all the basics. Explains why spelling is complex in English, and offers lists of ‘difficult’ words.

Gerald J. Alred et al, The Professional Writer, New York: St Martin’s Press, 1992.

Daniel Anderson, Bret Benjamin, Bill Paredes-Holt, Connections: a guide to on-line writing, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998, pp.331, ISBN: 0205268471. How to write effectively using the Internet – a classroom manual for students, with advice on everything from email to writing your own web pages.

Jonathan Anderson and Millicent Poole, Thesis and Assignment Writing, London: John Wiley, 1994.

Naomi S. Baron, Alphabet to Email: How Written English Evolved and Where It’s Heading, London/New York: Routledge, 2000, pp.316, ISBN: 0415186854. Scholarly study of the relationship between technology and the written language. Particularly strong on Renaissance period. Covers authorship, copyright, punctuation, and typewriters.

Robert Barrass, Students Must Write: A Guide to Better Writing in Coursework and Examinations, London: Routledge, second edition 1995, pp.194, ISBN 0415132223. Academic writing skills guide which covers notes, coursework essays, and writing in exams. Also features presenting information via maps, charts, diagrams, and graphs.

Robert Barrass, Writing at Work: A guide to better writing in administration, business and management, London: Routledge, 2002, pp.201, ISBN 0415267536. Writing skills guide for business users – covers planning and editing letters and reports, plus efficiency in communication – including interviews.

Alison Baverstock, Publicity, Newsletters, and Press Releases, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.96, ISBN 0198603843. How to generate publicity and promotional materials through effective writing. Covers email, letters, press releases, newsletters, and company reports.

Judith Bell, Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education and Social Science, Buckingham: Open University Press (2nd edn) 1993, pp.176, ISBN: 0335190944. Best-selling UK guide which covers planning and record-keeping, interviewing, reviewing ‘the literature’, questionnaires, and producing the final report. [Highly recommended]

Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: how to think about our research while you’re doing it, University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Hy Bender, Essential Software for Writers: a complete guide for everyone who writes with a PC, Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 1993, pp.486, ISBN: 0898796679. Compendium of programs and resources for all kinds of writing – from scriptwriting and journalism to business, medicine, and engineering. [Marvellous book – Out of print, but worth finding]

Ralph Berry, The Research Project: how to write it, Routledge, third edition, 1994.

Jo Billingham, Editing and Revising Text, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.144 , ISBN 0198604130. Beginner’s guide which covers all aspects of re-writing and improving text – from choice of individual words, through sentence construction, to creating good structure.

Lorraine Blaxter et al, How to Research, Buckingham: Open University Press, (second edition) 2001, pp.286, ISBN 0335209033. Comprehensive manual of research skills – from choosing a topic to writing up the results. Aimed at students in social sciences, as well as in related subjects such as education, business studies, and health and social care.

Rita S. Brause, Writing your Doctoral Dissertation: Invisible Rules for Success, London and New York: Falmer Press, 2000, pp.163, ISBN 0750707445. New US guide to writing at post-graduate level which uses practical examples, is strong on planning, and offers tips from former students. Popular.

Charles T. Brusaw et al, Handbook of Technical Writing, Fifth Edition, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997.

Judith Butcher, Copy-Editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors and Publishers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, (3rd edn) 1992, pp.471, ISBN: 0521400740. Classic UK guide and major source of reference to editing and text-presentation, which covers every possible bibliographic detail. [Highly recommended]

Christopher Callahan, A Journalist’s Guide to the Internet: the net as a reporting tool, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999, pp.126, ISBN 0205282156. Guide to using the Net for research and fact-checking – strong on search techniques and evaluation of results.

C.V. Carey, Mind the Stop: A brief guide to punctuation and a note on proof-correction, first published Cambridge University Press, 1939.

The Chicago Manual of Style, Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 14th edn, 1993, ISBN: 0226103897

John Clancy and Brigid Ballard, How to Write Essays: A practical guide for students, Longman Cheshire, 1983.

Collins Electronic Dictionary & Thesaurus V1.5 on disk and CD-ROM, Harper-Collins: 1995.

William Condon and Wayne Butler, Writing the Information SuperHighway, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997, pp.318, ISBN: 020519575X. Instruction guide for students and teachers – concentrates on word-processing, email conventions, collaborative writing, and putting your results onto the Web.

Claire Kehrwald Cook, Line by Line: How to improve your own writing, Houghton Mifflin, 1986, pp219, ISBN 0395393914

Phyllis Creme and Mary R.Lea, Writing at University: a guide for students, Buckingham: Open University Press, 1997, pp.152, ISBN: 033519642X. Popular UK guide to understanding questions, planning assignments, reading and note-taking, and developing arguments.

Martin Cutts, Oxford Guide to Plain English, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp.202, ISBN: 0198610114. Pocket-book guide to writing simple, clear English. How to avoid jargon and cliche. Before and after examples of editing for clarity and good style. How to present information visually to make its meaning clear. Recommended.

John W. Davies, Communication for Engineering Students, London: Longman, 1996, pp.167, ISBN: 0582256488. Straightforward advice on clear writing, grammar, presenting technical information, and even writing job applications.

Christian W. Dawson, The Essence of Computing Projects – A Student’s Guide, London: Prentice Hall, 2000, pp.176, ISBN 013021972X. Covers what’s required in writing a project – surveying the literature, report writing skills, documenting software, time management, project management, and presentation skills.

Cory Doctorow et al, Essential Blogging, Sebastopol (CA): O’Reilly, 2002, pp.244, ISBN 0596003889. Blogs (it’s a contraction of Web Logs) are a form of personal diary kept as Web pages. They can record anything from the trivial details of your own life to online political manifestos.

Jane Dorner, Writing for the Internet, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.128, ISBN 0198662858. Introductory guide to writing efficiently for the computer screen. How to design and produce effective web pages, and how to create a persuasive site.

Jane Dorner, The Internet : A Writer’s Guide, London: A & C Black, 2000, pp.200, ISBN: 071365192X. New opportunities and digital techniques for writers – from email to electronic publishing – with impressive list of online resources. [Popular title.]

Jane Dorner, Creative Web Writing, London: A & C Black, 2002, pp.166, ISBN 0713658541. Creative and experimental writing using new media technology – plus lists of Web resources for aspiring authors, as well as the latest on e-books and e-publishers.

The Economist Style Guide, London: Economist Books, 2001, pp.172, ISBN: 1861973462. Print version of Economist in-house style guide which they issue to all their journalists. It’s designed to promote precision and clarity in writing – and the advice it offers is expressed in a witty and succinct manner.

Harold Evans, Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers, London: Random House, 2000, pp.296, ISBN 0712664475. Reprint and update of a classic guide. Evans concentrates on skills for journalists, but his suggestions for clear writing and efficient communication are useful for any kind of writing. Contains extensive tutorials on composition, structure, and good style.

Joan van Emden and Jennifer Easteal, Technical Writing and Speaking, McGraw-Hill, 1996.

Rudolph Flesch and A.H. Lass, The Classic Guide to Better Writing, New York: Harper Perennial, 1966, pp.288, ISBN: 0062730487. Best-selling US guide with emphasis on how to generate, plan, and structure your ideas. Also covers basic grammar, good style, and common mistakes.

H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E Aaron, The Little, Brown Handbook, New York: Longman, (7th edn) 1998, pp.882, ISBN: 0321037979. Encyclopaedic US guide to all aspects of writing – includes vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, style, document design, MLA conventions, editing, bibliography, and the Internet. [Recommended]

Gary Gach, writers.net: Every Writer’s Essential Guide to Online resources and Opportunities, Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1997, pp.374, ISBN 0761506411. Excellent compendium of Net resources – includes information for academic and technical writing, journalism, data research, plus writing for the screen and theatre. [Recommended]

Albertine Gaur, Literacy and the Politics of Writing, Bristol: Intellect, 2000, pp.188, ISBN 1904705065. Thoughtful scholarly study of the history of writing and literacy. Covers language as a political system, and spans a period from the origins of writing to a critique of the UK’s current National Literacy Strategy.

Steve Good and Bill Jensen, The Student’s Only Survival Guide to Essay Writing, Orca Book Publishers, 1995.

Norman Graves and Ved Varma, Working for a Doctorate: a guide for the humanities and social sciences, Routledge, 1997.

Tony Greenfield (ed), Research Methods: guidance for postgraduates, Arnold, 1996.

Constance Hale (ed), Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age, San Francisco: HardWired, 1996, pp.172, ISBN 1888869011. Cheerful guide to writing and editing which looks at the problems thrown up by the new language of the digital age. [Stylish]

Liz Hamp-Lyons and Ben Heasley, Study Writing: a course in written English for academic and professional purposes, Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Irene Hammerich and Claire Harrison, Developing Online Content: the Principles of Writing and Editing for the Web, New York: John Wiley, 2002, pp.384, ISBN 0471146110. This is aimed at intermediate to advanced users working on web projects – but it will be of interest to anybody who wants to extend their writing skills into the digital realm.

Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger, Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources, New York: St Martin’s Press, 1997, pp.162, ISBN: 0312150237. How to represent digital sources in academic writing. The focus is on bibliographic citation, but it also includes handy Net tips and how to create your own web pages. [Very good value-for-money.]

James Hartley, Designing Instructional Text, London: Kogan Page, (3rd edn) 1994, pp.183, ISBN: 074941037X. Guide to the presentation of instructions – from paper size, through clear writing, to the use of diagrams and illustrations. [Recommended]

Hart’s Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press Oxford, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, pp.182, ISBN 019212983X. Classic guide to the finer points of editing and print preparation, spelling and typography. A masterpiece of compression, now in its thirty-ninth edition.

Wynford Hicks, Subediting for Journalists, London: Routledge, 2002, pp.180, ISBN 0415240859. Professional advice on subediting for the popular press. Main focus on the need for accuracy, clarity, and even legality. Also covers the process of digital print production.

Wynford Hicks, Writing for Journalists, London: Routledge, 2002, pp.159, ISBN 0415184452. Practical advice on writing for the popular press. Main focus on news reporting, but also includes feature writing, reviews, and even obituaries.

Catherine Hilton and Margaret Hyder, Getting to Grips with Punctuation and Grammar, Letts, 1998.

P.M.Howe, Answering Examination Questions, Collins, 1983.

Roy Johnson, Writing Essays: guidance notes for students, Manchester: Clifton Press, (6th edn) 1996, pp.104, ISBN: 0951984403. Covers every aspect of essay-writing technique – from understanding questions to presenting finished work. Includes sample essays. [Best-seller]

Roy Johnson, Improve your Writing Skills, Manchester: Clifton Press, 1995, pp.137, ISBN: 0951984454. Written in non-technical language, with quick solutions to common problems. Emphasis on planning, editing, structure, and clarity.

Yateendra Joshi, Communicating in Style, New Delhi: The Energy and Resources Institute, 2003, pp.250, ISBN 8179930165. Style guide on the finer details of presenting text and data – of particular interest to technical writers and those dealing with business documentation.

Ronald T. Kellogg, The Psychology of Writing, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994, pp.253, ISBN: 0195081390. Detailed academic study of the writing process, from gestation to production, with examples drawn largely from creative writing. [Thorough]

John Kirkman, Full Marks: Advice on punctuation for scientific and technical writing, Wiltshire: Ramsbury, (3rd edn) 1999, pp.115, ISBN: 0952176246. Practical advice on all common punctuation issues, with lots of practical examples – and not just for scientists and technicians. [Good value]

Gunther Kress, Literacy in the New Media Age, London: Routledge, 2003, pp.186, ISBN 041525356X. Theoretical study of literacy which argues that multimedia and the screen are starting to challenge the page as the natural medium of writing – and that this in turn is affecting the way we write.

Leslie Lamport, LaTeX: a document preparation system, Addison-Wesley, 1996

Mary R. Lea and Barry Stierer (eds), Student Writing in Higher Education: New Contexts, Buckingham: Open University Press, 2000, pp.205, ISBN: 0335204074. Academic research papers looking at student’s writing skills in UK universities as they come under pressure to modernise.

Judith Leigh, Organizing and Participating in Meetings, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.128, ISBN 019866284X.

Betsy Lerner, The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers, New York: Riverhead Books/Penguin Putnam, 2000, pp.285, ISBN 157322152X. Realistic guidance for would-be writers from an experienced editor.

Janice R. Matthews et al, Successful Scientific Writing: a step-by-step guide for the biological and medical sciences, Cambridge University Press, 1996.

MHRA Style Book: Notes for authors, editors, and writers of theses, Modern Humanities Research Association, 5th edn, 1996, pp.100, ISBN: 0947623612. Detailed guidance notes for the presentation of academic writing prior to publication – includes glossary and proof-correction.

Paul Mills, Writing in Action, London: Routledge, 1996, pp.224, ISBN: 0415119898. Guidance notes for creative writing – covers prose, poetry, and drama, as well as essays and ‘persuasive writing’.

Chris Mounsey, Essays and Dissertations, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.128, ISBN 0198605056. Introductory guide to essay-writing skills, plus research and examinations – but not quite so much on dissertations as the title suggests.

Andrew Northedge, The Good Study Guide, Buckingham: The Open University, 1990, pp.248, ISBN: 0749200448. Best-selling study skills guide which includes examples of note-taking and the preparation of coursework essays, reports, and projects. [Good value]

Paul Oliver, Writing Essays and Reports, Hodder and Stoughton, 1996.

Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy, London: Routledge, 2002, pp.204, ISBN 0415281294. Classic theoretical study of the relationship between spoken and written culture. Ong argues that writing is a quantum leap forward in cultural and intellectual complexity. Highly recommended.

Elizabeth Orna with Graham Stevens, Managing Information for Research, Buckingham: Open University Press, 1995, pp.191, ISBN: 0335193978. Excellent advice on organising, storing, and structuring information for writing research projects, reports, and dissertations. Includes layout and use of word-processors. [Recommended]

Oxford Guide to Style, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.623, ISBN: 0198691750. Comprehensive reference to editing and text-presentation, which covers every possible bibliographic detail. Includes referencing digital sources and print preparation. [Highly recommended]

Oxford Style Manual, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.1052, ISBN 0198605641. This ultimate style guide combines Oxford’s Guide to Style with their equally popular Writer’s Dictionary. Two for cheaper than the price of one. Highly recommended.

Oxford Writers’ Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990, pp.448, ISBN: 0192826697. Specialist dictionary for writers, journalists, and text-editors which deals with problematic and foreign words, offering correct spellings and usage. [Recommended]

Richard Palmer, Write in Style: a guide to good English, London: Routledge, 2nd edn, 2002, pp.255,ISBN 0415252636. Amusing and irreverant advice on the basics of good English. Covers good and bad sentences; how to deal with punctuation; how to strike the right tone; and the rules of spelling and grammar. Every point illustrated with vivid examples – gaffes from the popular press and good style from skillful authors.

Mike Palmquist and Donald E. Zimmerman, Writing with a Computer, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999, pp.269, ISBN 0205274870. How to use word-processors to increase the effectiveness of your writing, plus time-saving tips on the use of templates, short-cuts, and outliners.

David Parker, Tackling Coursework: assignments, projects, reports and presentations, DP Publications, 1994.

M. Peelo, Helping Students with Study Problems, Open University Press, 1995

Estelle M. Phillips and D.S. Pugh, How to get a Ph.D: a handbook for students and their supervisors, Buckinghamshire: Open University Press, third edn, 2000, pp.235, ISBN: 033520550X. Advice on how to get into the system, what to expect, and how to plan your workload, as well as dealing with your supervisor.

B.A. Phythian, Teach Yourself Correct English, Hodder and Stoughton, 1990, pp.277, ISBN: 0340429968.

David B. Pirie, How to Write Critical Essays: a guide for students of literature, London: Routledge, 1985, pp.139, ISBN 0415045339. Guidance manual on all aspects of essay writing – from interpreting the question, through making notes, to planning and submitting the finished work.

Jonathan and Lisa Price, Hot Text: Web Writing that Works, Indianapolis (IN): New Riders, 2002, pp.507, ISBN 0735711518. Guide to digital writing techniques – packed with good examples of how to produce efficient writing for the Web. Intermediate to advanced level. Covers all forms of digital communication – from email newsletters to Web reports and eCommerce site material. [Highly recommended]

Gary Provost, 101 Ways to Improve your Writing, Mentor Books, 1985, ISBN 0451627210

Phil Race, How to win as a final-year student: essays, exams and employment, Buckingham, UK: Open University Press, 2000, pp.181, ISBN 0335205119. Writing skills and strategies for students in their last year. It covers the problems of writing longer essays, reports, and dissertations, passing exams, and preparing for future employment.

Andrew Robinson, The Story of Writing, London: Thames & Hudson, 1995, pp.224, ISBN 0500016658. Illustrated study of the graphical presentation of language, focussing on the decipherment of hieroglyphs and other code-cracking.

Kjell Erik Rudestam and Rae R. Newton, Surviving your Dissertation: a comprehensive guide to content and process, Sage Publications, 1992.

Rosemary Sassoon, Handwriting of the Twentieth Century, London: Routledge, 1999, pp.208, ISBN 0415178827. How handwriting was taught and learned – from 1900 to 2000. This shows the gradual move from copperplate script to the modern italic in general use today. Beautifully illustrated.

Heidi Schultz, The Elements of Electronic Communication, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000, pp.132, ISBN: 0205286461. Brief introduction to emailing protocols, newsgroups, and communication via the Web, with emphasis on writing for clarity in an electronic medium.

Karen Scott, The Internet Writer’s Handbook 2001/2, London: Alison & Busby, 2001, pp.287, ISBN 0749004975. Reference guide to electronic publishing, with focus on e-zines and e-books. Extensive listings, plus advice on submitting work, payments, and contracts.

John Seely, The Oxford Guide to Writing and Speaking, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp.304, ISBN 0192801090. Brisk guide to various forms of writing and verbal presentations – from academic work, via faxes and email, to research and dissertations. Plenty of examples and self-assessment exercises.

John Seely, Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.128, ISBN 0198662823. Using dictionaries, history of English language, and words which are commonly misused. Practical guidance if you wish to perform more successfully in the workplace or in studying. Tells you how to improve your vocabulary.

John Seely, Writing Reports, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.128, ISBN 0198662831. Beginner’s guide to report-writing skills – covers planning, structure, and presentation, how to research a topic, how to interview people, and how to record the results.

John Seely, Oxford A—Z of Grammar and Punctuation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp.148, ISBN 0198608977. Beginner’s pocket guide to basic grammar and punctuation in English. Plus how to punctuate lists; how to avoid the split infinitive; how to show speech in writing; and other practical everyday writing issues.

John Seely, <>Oxford Guide to Effective Writing and Speaking, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp.310. ISBN 0192806130. Covers how to structure a business letter and how to strike the right tone; how to format and follow the protocols of emailing; how to write a persuasive curriculum vitae, structure a job application, and prepare for the interview; how to prepare and deliver a PowerPoint presentation; how to organise and write a report; and how to prepare a press release when dealing with the media. Expanded version of Oxford Guide to Writing and Speaking.

Mike Sharples, <>How We Write: Writing as Creative Design, London: Routledge, 1999, pp.224, ISBN 0415185874. Excellent study of the various processes of writing – from the origination of ideas, through their expression in words, to the physical production of text. Especially insightful on revision and the way in which the meaning of a text can change. Combines the approaches of psychology and literary theory.

Catherine Soanes and Shiela Ferguson, Oxford A—Z of Spelling, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp.140, ISBN 0198608950. Pocket-book guide to the basic rules of spelling in English – along with all the many irregular cases. It deals with difficult plurals and the apostrophe, Also acts as a reference book, since half of it is devoted to words which are commonly mis-spelled in English.

Biz Stone, Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content, Indianapolis (IN): New Riders, 2002, pp.309, ISBN 0735712999. Enthusiastic guide to writing web log pages [blogs] – the latest popular form of free journal writing.

William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1979, pp.92, ISBN: 0205191584. Old favourite ‘bare bones’ guidance manual which cuts out everything except the essential answers to most common writing problems. [Very popular]

John Swales & Christine B. Feak, Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential tasks and skills, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1994,
pp.264, ISBN 0472082639.

Judith Tarutz, Technical Editing: The Practical Guide for Editors and Writers, Hewlett-Packard Press, 1992, pp.454, ISBN: 0201563568

Gordon Taylor, The Student’s Writing Guide for the arts and social sciences, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp.250, ISBN: 0521369053.

Michael Temple, A Pocket Guide to Written English, Michael Joseph, 1990.

L. Trask, The Penguin Guide to Punctuation, London: Penguin Books, 1997, pp.162

Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, London: Profile Books, 2003, pp.209, ISBN: 1861976127. Amusing and best-selling guide to punctuation written in a lively style, and free from grammatical rules.

Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (6th edn) 1987, pp.300, ISBN: 0226816273. Modern US classic guidance manual for academic writing – covers everything from abbreviations via bibliography and referencing, to page layout. [Highly recommended.]

Kate L. Turabian, Student’s Guide for Writing College Papers (3rd rev edn) Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977, pp.256, ISBN 0226816230

Christopher Turk and John Kirkman, Effective Writing: improving scientific, technical and business communication, E & FN Spon, second edition, 1989.

Richard Marggraf Turley, Writing Essays: a guide for students in English and the Humanities, London: Routledge, 2000, pp.145, ISBN 0415230136. Practical advice and worked examples for undergraduate students – written in a friendly tone and often quite funny. [Recommended]

Victor J. Vitanza, Writing for the World Wide Web, Allyn and Bacon, 1998, pp.235, ISBN: 0205266932. Guide for students who wish to convert their written work into web pages – includes examples of HTML code and instructions for uploading the results.

WAN2TLK? ltle bk of txt msgs, London: Michael O’Mara Books, 2000, pp.95, ISBN: 185479678X. An interesting and best-selling oddity. A micro-dictionary which explains the abbreviated language of text-messaging used on mobile phones.

Keith Waterhouse, Waterhouse on Newspaper Style, London: Penguin, 1993, pp.250, ISBN: 0140118195. Amusing tour through the abuse of language by UK newspaper journalists – exposing bad writing as a way of promoting clarity and precision. [Very popular]

Gordon Wells, Writers’ Questions and Answers, London: Allison & Busby, 2001, pp.143, ISBN 0749005319. Practical advice to writers who wish to publish their work commercially. Good on contracts, copyright, payments, and how to submit your work.

Joseph Williams, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, New York: Addison Wesley, 6th edn, 1999, pp.309, ISBN: 0321024087. Advice for improving your writing – puts its emphasis on editing for clarity, creating structure, and keeping the audience in mind. [Recommended]

Ian Winship and Alison McNab, The Student’s Guide to the Internet, Library Association, 1996.

Peter Woods, Successful Writing for Qualitative Researchers, London: Routledge, 1999, pp.158, ISBN: 0415188474. Guide to academic writing at post-graduate level – from the preparation of a project through to the completion (and possible publication) of the finished work.

William Zinsser, On Writing Well, New York: Harper Perennial, 1990, pp.308, ISBN: 0062735233. Reassuring guidance from an experienced journalist on writing more effectively, particularly good on editing and re-writing. [Best-seller]

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