Grammar Girl Presents the Ultimate Writing Guide for Students

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kindersteele, December 27, 2011 (view all comments by kindersteele)
I haven't been a student for a long time, but I guess one could call himself or herself a student if you are open to learning and reading books to educate yourself. That's me. I like this book because it's simple and easy to read. Grammar is not my strength and I often have a hard time remembering the facts, so I'd rather look it up in an easy-to-understand book and then be able to share with someone or read out loud to myself and still understand the rule and feel confident about it.

There are pop quizzes in the book and plenty of sidebars with exceptions, extra explanations, quick tips. I'm not yet finished reading the book, but it's on my desk and I reference it often when I'm not reading it front to back.

I recently referenced the lie vs. lay entry to give a better explanation to a coworker. It was quite helpful. In a couple of box-like charts, Mignon has nicely laid out the present and past tense of each word with sample sentences. But there's more beyond that ... some tips for remembering the differences and a few other helpful paragraphs.

This book, as well as many of Mignon's other books, is simple and straightforward. All of her books include relevant examples and explanations and catchy ways to remember some of the harder rules to follow. You feel like you could identify with her, because she's down to earth as she writes. She'll say things like, "Don't feel bad if you can't remember verb forms right away. Practice will help, and truthfully, I still have to look up most of them every time I use them."

I often look up stuff up all the time ... even the same stuff. But sometimes the books just say it better than I do, and I'd rather read from a source that says it right and gives a great way to remember it.

I recommend Mignon's books!

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namarome, July 13, 2011 (view all comments by namarome)
I love Grammar Girl's podcasts, and frequently refer to them to settle an argument or teach a grammar point to kids. I loved her first guide to better writing, and tried using small chunks with my students who could understand grammar at that level. I recently received an advanced reader's copy of her new writing guide for students, and continue to put Mignon Fogarty on a pedestal. This new book makes the grammar concepts so much more accessible to students. I would even use pieces of it for students as young as third grade. She mixes formal grammar vocabulary with informal references and explanations, boiling things down to what we really need to know. She justifies when we need to follow certain rules for clarity, and that sometimes we just have to memorize things because we do. (Bummer.) I think her humor, her matter-of-fact-ness, and her unapologetic interest in all things language make this an excellent book to have.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780805089448

Author:

Fogarty, Mignon

Publisher:

St. Martin's Griffin

Illustrator:

Haya, Erwin

Author:

Haya, Erwin

Subject:

General

Subject:

Language Arts - Grammar

Subject:

Report writing

Subject:

English language -- Grammar.

Subject:

Linguistics - General

Subject:

Writing Skills

Edition Description:

Young Adult Nonfiction

Publication Date:

20110731

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

from 7

Language:

English

Illustrations:

black-and-white spot art

Pages:

304

Dimensions:

9 x 6 in 1 lb

Age Level:

from 12 up to 17