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Book which discusses the very real possibility that the human soul survives death.

Book which discusses the very real possibility that the human soul survives death.

No writer's or editor's desk is complete without a battered, page-bent copy of the AP Stylebook. However, this not-so-easy-to-use reference of journalistic style is often not up-to-date and leaves reporters and copyeditors unsatisfied. Bill Walsh, copy chief for the Washington Post's business desk, addresses these shortcomings in Lapsing into a Comma. In an opinionated, humorous, and yes, curmudgeonly way, he shows how to apply the basic rules to unique, modern grammar issues. Walsh explains how to deal with perplexing situations such as trendy words, foreign terms, and web speak.

Who knew a stylebook could be so much fun? For lovers of language, Lapsing Into a Comma is a sensible and very funny guide to the technicalities of writing and copy editing. Author Bill Walsh, chief copy editor in the business section of the Washington Post, humorously discusses the changing rules of proper print style in the information age. Is it "e-mail" or "email"? According to established grammatical rules, it should be e-mail, but in common practice, we often use email (which should be pronounced "uhmail," but we all know not to do that). Therefore, email is OK.

Walsh does not advocate tossing your AP Stylebook, but he does encourage using your head and not blindly adhering to formal rules. "A finely tuned ear is at least as important as formal grammar," he says, "and that's not something you can acquire by memorizing a stylebook." What about companies that use punctuation in their logos? Walsh cautions against confusing a logo with a name. You wouldn't use "Tech Stock Surge Boosts Yahoo!" as a headline unless you wrote for a very excitable newspaper. And then there's arbitrary capitalization. "The dot-com era has leveled a wall that Adidas and K.D. Lang and Thirtysomething had already cracked," says Walsh, "and suddenly writers and editors faced with a name are asking, "Is that capitalized?"--a question that's about as appropriate as asking a 5-year-old, 'Do you want that Coke with or without rum?'"

The first half of Lapsing Into a Comma zips along, making you think about the intricacies of grammar and editing--all while trying not to choke on laughter. The second half is Walsh's personally crafted style guide. Remember--Roommate: Two m's, unless you ate a room or mated with a roo. --Dana Van Nest

Reading and Content Advisers - Activity - Glossary - At the Library - FactHound - Index - Book List

With short, easy-to-digest activities that have a sense of humor, Commas helps students learn to use commas correctly. At the same time, they also learn a great deal about sentence structure.

Commas presents material in an interesting way, with language that makes sense to kids. Best of all, it has students using what they learn.

Either way, the review exercises will help reinforce what students learn—and help them perform better on assessment tests as well.

Lederer has long been one of America's most popular experts on language and grammar, but here he seems to be taking his cue from Lynn Truss in focusing on the ins and outs of commas, semi-colons and the other little dots and dashes that punctuate our writing. Lederer, with writer and editor Shore, tries a bit too hard to convince readers of the importance of good punctuation ("Good punctuation makes for a good life") and to make the whole business amusing (the period is "a mark so dinky that farsighted fleas court it"); disquisitions on Seabiscuit and Albert Einstein's hair are distractions rather than entertainments. And all the talk of how the apostrophe is like Jesse James explains less than Lederer's straightforward usage examples, such as the serious differences in meaning between these two sentences: "The butler stood in the doorway and called the guests names"; "The butler stood in the doorway and called the guests' names." Yes, punctuation is important, and the bold-face print for basic rules does make this an easy-to-use guide for the punctuationally perplexed. Lederer is a prolific author of language books, most notably the Anguished English series. Here, along with professional journalist Shore, he offers brief chapters on 13 punctuation marks. This primer will be useful to anyone needing a refresher course on the basics of punctuation. Aware that most people find grammatical advice to be rather dry and sometimes intimidating subject matter, Lederer employs a jocular tone intended to disarm wary readers. Thus, the dash ("fluid and graceful") is introduced by way of Fred Astaire; Shirley Temple acts as a stand-in for the hyphen ("perky, yet resolute"); and Jesse James gets the apostrophe ("a tad flamboyant"). To keep things from getting altogether too cute, Lederer explains the finer points of the exclamation point by quoting wacky dialogue from the I Love Lucy show. Concise instruction from a fun-loving grammarian.

Commas are confusing. Unlike other types of punctuation, they are used in many ways. If you want to write clearly and professionally, you need to use commas correctly. Zen Comma will show you how.

Zen Comma uses examples, instructions, and anecdotes to teach you the 14 major uses for commas and the most common errors. Zen Comma concludes with a summary of 38 rules for using commas correctly, an explanation of the instructional anecdotes, and a series of exercises to help you identify the comma rules you need to study.

Don't be confused by commas. Learn to use them correctly, write clearly, and improve your credibility. Zen Comma is the only comma book you will need.

Why I wrote Zen Comma

The final stage of the writing and editing process is proofreading: correcting any errors in spelling, punctuation, word usage, and format. Roughly 75% of what I do while proofreading clients' documents is correct commas. When I teach university writing courses, I ask the students, "What's the number one thing that confuses you about punctuation and grammar?" In every class, someone says "Commas," and about half of the students nod in agreement.

I've looked for a book that focuses on commas and that provides clear directions and examples of the many ways commas are used. I didn't find one, so I wrote one.

Commas are confusing. Unlike other types of punctuation, they are used in many ways. If you want to write clearly and professionally, you need to use commas correctly. Zen Comma will show you how.

Zen Comma uses examples, instructions, and anecdotes to teach you the 14 major uses for commas and the most common errors. Zen Comma concludes with a summary of 38 rules for using commas correctly, an explanation of the instructional anecdotes, and a series of exercises to help you identify the comma rules you need to study.

Don't be confused by commas. Learn to use them correctly, write clearly, and improve your credibility. Zen Comma is the only comma book you will need.

Why I wrote Zen Comma

The final stage of the writing and editing process is proofreading: correcting any errors in spelling, punctuation, word usage, and format. Roughly 75% of what I do while proofreading clients' documents is correct commas. When I teach university writing courses, I ask the students, "What's the number one thing that confuses you about punctuation and grammar?" In every class, someone says "Commas," and about half of the students nod in agreement.

I've looked for a book that focuses on commas and that provides clear directions and examples of the many ways commas are used. I didn't find one, so I wrote one.

Boost your language libido with Comma Sutra! Filled with quickie faux pas fixes and kinky wordplay, this irresistible, offbeat grammar guide is instant grammar gratification.

Bestselling author and grammarian Dr. Laurie Rozakis will show you how to: