PLAIN ENGLISH. A paperback book written by Diane Collinson, published by Open University Press

Essential Stats

Plain English Cover

Plain English
[enlarge]

Click Here To Buy Plain English From Amazon.co.uk

Tags

Reviews

Right from the beginning this book tests you. The first chapter is an introductory quiz on all things grammatical, so that you get an idea of just how flawed your formal writing is! But it's not at all disheartening, because you will get a lot of it right - that is, if you're at all interested in writing and language. There are basic things, like starting a sentence with a capital letter, right through to challenging exercises to do with writing style. It is a very plain-speaking guide, one which rubbishes cliches and rejects 'pompous and jargonistic' styles. Every single chapter contains short exercises, the answers to which are given at the end of the book. I like the fact that the book has a no-nonsense feel to it; you are encouraged, however academic and erudite you may be as a writer or essayist, to use the simplest option where language is concerned. No matter what subject you are writing about (yes, I am allowed to end with a preposition, apparently), the emphasis is on the reader of your work. If they don't understand your sentence construction or your style, your writing is annoying and has failed. The best thing to do is to use direct English, in an uncomplicated but elegant way. This is the most down-to-earth, non-irritating guide to language usage I have seen.

Add your review of Plain English now!

Closely Related Books

Subject Related Books

An Introduction to Literature Criticism and Theory
Scholr It or Buy It

Beginning theory (third edition): An introduction to literary and cultural theory (Beginnings)
Scholr It or Buy It

Beowulf and Other Stories: An Introduction to Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman Literature
Scholr It or Buy It

Essential Reporting: The NCTJ Guide for Trainee Journalists
Scholr It or Buy It

Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Scholr It or Buy It

Lyrical Ballads (Routledge Classics)
Scholr It or Buy It

Macbeth (The RSC Shakespeare)
Scholr It or Buy It

McNae's Essential Law for Journalists
Scholr It or Buy It

Middle English Literature: An Introduction (Blackwell Introductions to Literature)
Scholr It or Buy It

NCTJ Teeline Gold Standard
Scholr It or Buy It

Plain English
Scholr It or Buy It

Public Affairs for Journalists
Scholr It or Buy It

Reading Poetry: An Introduction
Scholr It or Buy It

Short Oxford History of English Literature
Scholr It or Buy It

Short and Sweet: 101 Very Short Poems (Faber poetry)
Scholr It or Buy It

Teeline Gold: Word List
Scholr It or Buy It

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Scholr It or Buy It

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Middle Ages Through the Restoration and the Eighteenth Century v. 1
Scholr It or Buy It

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Romantic Period Through the Twentieth Century v. 2
Scholr It or Buy It

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
Scholr It or Buy It

The Oxford Companion to English Literature: Revised (Oxford Companions)
Scholr It or Buy It

The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Reference Books)
Scholr It or Buy It