Clear and Simple as the Truth

Classic prose is found everywhere: from Thomas Jefferson to Junichirō Tanizaki, from Mark Twain to the observations of an undergraduate. Here are many fine performances in classic style, each clear and simple as the truth.

Author: Francis-Noël Thomas

Publisher: Princeton University Press

ISBN: 9781400887354

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 234

View: 999

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Everyone talks about style, but no one explains it. The authors of this book do; and in doing so, they provoke the reader to consider style, not as an elegant accessory of effective prose, but as its very heart. At a time when writing skills have virtually disappeared, what can be done? If only people learned the principles of verbal correctness, the essential rules, wouldn't good prose simply fall into place? Thomas and Turner say no. Attending to rules of grammar, sense, and sentence structure will no more lead to effective prose than knowing the mechanics of a golf swing will lead to a hole-in-one. Furthermore, ten-step programs to better writing exacerbate the problem by failing to recognize, as Thomas and Turner point out, that there are many styles with different standards. In the first half of Clear and Simple, the authors introduce a range of styles--reflexive, practical, plain, contemplative, romantic, prophetic, and others--contrasting them to classic style. Its principles are simple: The writer adopts the pose that the motive is truth, the purpose is presentation, the reader is an intellectual equal, and the occasion is informal. Classic style is at home in everything from business memos to personal letters, from magazine articles to university writing. The second half of the book is a tour of examples--the exquisite and the execrable--showing what has worked and what hasn't. Classic prose is found everywhere: from Thomas Jefferson to Junichirō Tanizaki, from Mark Twain to the observations of an undergraduate. Here are many fine performances in classic style, each clear and simple as the truth. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
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Three Genres

Full of expert advice and complete works as examples, this classic book is the ultimate guide for creative writers at all levels.

Author: Stephen Minot

Publisher: Longman Publishing Group

ISBN: 0205012752

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 446

View: 289

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ALERT: Before you purchase, check with your instructor or review your course syllabus to ensure that you select the correct ISBN. Several versions of Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products exist for each title, including customized versions for individual schools, and registrations are not transferable. In addition, you may need a CourseID, provided by your instructor, to register for and use Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products. Packages Access codes for Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products may not be included when purchasing or renting from companies other than Pearson; check with the seller before completing your purchase. Used or rental books If you rent or purchase a used book with an access code, the access code may have been redeemed previously and you may have to purchase a new access code. Access codes Access codes that are purchased from sellers other than Pearson carry a higher risk of being either the wrong ISBN or a previously redeemed code. Check with the seller prior to purchase. -- Three Genres gives students a basic introduction to fiction/ literary nonfiction, poetry, and drama and helps them to develop their creative skills in each area. Each genre section is self-contained and includes complete works as examples along with helpful advice about how to draw on the variety of techniques they use. The style is informal, practical, and positive. Minot and Thiel encourage students to draw on their own experiences and develop skills on their own. 0321858727 / 9780321858726 Three Genres: The Writing of Literary Prose, Poems and Plays Plus NEW MyLiteratureLab -- Access Card Package Package consists of: 0205012752 / 9780205012756 Three Genres: The Writing of Literary Prose, Poems and Plays 0205883583 / 9780205883585 NEW MyLiteratureLab -- Valuepack Access Card
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The Sense of Style

“Charming and erudite," from the author of Enlightenment Now, "The wit and insight and clarity he brings . . . is what makes this book such a gem.” —Time.com Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better?

Author: Steven Pinker

Publisher: Penguin

ISBN: 9780698170308

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 368

View: 969

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“Charming and erudite," from the author of Enlightenment Now, "The wit and insight and clarity he brings . . . is what makes this book such a gem.” —Time.com Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media? Do the kids today even care about good writing—and why should we care? From the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now. In this entertaining and eminently practical book, the cognitive scientist, dictionary consultant, and New York Times–bestselling author Steven Pinker rethinks the usage guide for the twenty-first century. Using examples of great and gruesome modern prose while avoiding the scolding tone and Spartan tastes of the classic manuals, he shows how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right. The Sense of Style is for writers of all kinds, and for readers who are interested in letters and literature and are curious about the ways in which the sciences of mind can illuminate how language works at its best.
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The Writer s Diet

This book offers an easy-to-follow set of writing principles.

Author: Helen Sword

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

ISBN: 9780226351988

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 87

View: 416

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This book offers an easy-to-follow set of writing principles. For example, use active verbs whenever possible, favour concrete language over vague abstractions, avoid long strings of prepositional phrases, employ adjectives and adverbs only when they contribute something new to the meaning of a sentence and reduce your dependence on the "waste words": 'it', 'this', 'that' and 'there'. The author also shows these rules in action through examples from famous authors such as Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson. The book includes a test to help you assess your own writing and get advice on problem areas.
280 Download

Blooming Spaces

This ground-breaking collection presents the work of a strikingly original yet overlooked author, art critic, and intellectual, and resituates Vogel as an important figure in the constellation of European modernity.

Author: Anastasiya Lyubas

Publisher: Academic Studies PRess

ISBN: 9781644693933

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 380

View: 368

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Debora Vogel (1900-1942) wrote in Yiddish unlike anyone else. Yiddish, her fourth language after Polish, Hebrew, and German, became the central vehicle for her modernist experiments in poetry and prose. This ground-breaking collection presents the work of a strikingly original yet overlooked author, art critic, and intellectual, and resituates Vogel as an important figure in the constellation of European modernity. Vogel’s astute observations on art, literature, and psychology in her essays, her bold prose experiments inspired by photography and film, and Cubist poetry that both challenges and captivates invite the reader on a journey of discovery—into the microcosm of the talented thinker marked by tragic fate and the macrocosm of Jewish history and Poland’s turbulent twentieth century.
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Economical Writing Third Edition

With McCloskey as our guide, it’s impossible not to see how any piece of writing—on economics or any other subject—can be a pleasure to read.

Author: Deirdre N. McCloskey

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

ISBN: 9780226448107

Category: Reference

Page: 176

View: 672

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Economics is not a field that is known for good writing. Charts, yes. Sparkling prose, no. Except, that is, when it comes to Deirdre Nansen McCloskey. Her conversational and witty yet always clear style is a hallmark of her classic works of economic history, enlivening the dismal science and engaging readers well beyond the discipline. And now she’s here to share the secrets of how it’s done. Economical Writing is itself economical: a collection of thirty-five pithy rules for making your writing clear, concise, and effective. Proceeding from big-picture ideas to concrete strategies for improvement at the level of the paragraph, sentence, or word, McCloskey shows us that good writing, after all, is not just a matter of taste—it’s a product of adept intuition and a rigorous revision process. Debunking stale rules, warning us that “footnotes are nests for pedants,” and offering an arsenal of readily applicable tools and methods, she shows writers of all levels of experience how to rethink the way they approach their work, and gives them the knowledge to turn mediocre prose into magic. At once efficient and digestible, hilarious and provocative, Economical Writing lives up to its promise. With McCloskey as our guide, it’s impossible not to see how any piece of writing—on economics or any other subject—can be a pleasure to read.
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Reading Like a Writer

Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, "Reading Like a Writer" instructs readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.

Author: Francine Prose

Publisher: Union

ISBN: 1908526076

Category: Authors

Page: 273

View: 577

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In her entertaining and edifying New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and tricks of the masters to discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humour and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart – to take pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breathtaking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; to look to John le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue and to Flannery O’Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail; to be inspired by Emily Brontë’s structural nuance and Charles Dickens’s deceptively simple narrative techniques. Most importantly, Prose cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which all literature is crafted, and reminds us that good writing comes out of good reading.
692 Download

Writing Public Prose

First, let's talk about this thing called style, and why you shouldn't have to worry
about it. Style can be as elusive as a ... Instead of toiling away to develop a “style,
” beginning writers should develop true writing skills. “Skills” is the key word.

Author: Robert M. Knight

Publisher: Marion Street Press

ISBN: 9781936863273

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 108

View: 363

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Offering aspiring authors dependable skills beyond the high school classroom, this reference covers the essentials of composing superior prose. Clear instructions on all aspects are featured, including approaching a topic, penning a solid introduction, bringing a story together, and editing for precision. Guaranteed to make every word count and maintain an appropriate energy level, this expert handbook is also filled with real-world examples of published writing--both good and bad--providing quick and humorous advice for all writers looking to showcase their work in speeches, broadcasting, or on the internet.
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Creative Writing In Prose

Our subject is creative writing in prose. I hope you know the story of Le Bourgeois
Gentilhomme. This comedy by the seventeenth century French dramatist, Moliere
, has been translated into Swahili under the title Mchuuzi Mungwana. Monsieur ...

Author: Macgoye, Marjorie Oludhe

Publisher: University of Nairobi Press

ISBN: 9789966846839

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 130

View: 341

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Creative Writing In Prose is centered on novel writing but touches on other prose forms. It covers the process from the germination of the story to the submission of the manuscript for publication. Plot, narrative methods, the recording of dialogue and the subtle relationship between story and theme are all examined.
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The Prose Writers of America

In 1845 , appeared the in this collection , more to his celebrity as a Stranger in
Lowell , a series of sketches of poet , than to his merit as a prơse writer , was
scenery and character , suggested by that great born in 1808 , in the old
homestead ...

Author: Rufus Wilmot Griswold

Publisher:

ISBN: MINN:319510021837487

Category: American prose literature

Page: 699

View: 389

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The Cambridge History of American Literature Volume 6 Prose Writing 1910 1950

In Hemingway's self-conscious style, including his practice of using simple words
in economical ways, we also should ... But in writing the story, he told Stein, he
was "trying to do [his] country like Cezanne" had done Provence in paintings that
 ...

Author: Cyrus R. K. Patell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

ISBN: 0521497310

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 640

View: 528

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Discusses the social, cultural, intellectual, and aesthetic aspects of American literature
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The Cambridge History of American Literature Volume 3 Prose Writing 1860 1920

And it is in fact this radicalization of Conrad's “ before all , to make you see ” that
Michael Fried ( in Realism , Writing , Disfiguration ) has identified at the heart of
Crane's Realist ambitions . But if Crane's formal project is to make the reader see
 ...

Author: Cyrus R. K. Patell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

ISBN: 0521301076

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 813

View: 952

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Discusses the social, cultural, intellectual, and aesthetic aspects of American literature
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Materials for German Prose Composition Or Selecions from Modern English Writers

OF STYLE . ' The eloquent Buffon says that the style is the man ; by which he
means that we may 10 see what the man is when we see his style . If this is true ,
every man should think 11 well what he is before he begins to write , and whether
it ...

Author: Charles Adolphus Buchheim

Publisher:

ISBN: HARVARD:32044102877693

Category: German language

Page: 276

View: 107

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909 Download

The Reader Over Your Shoulder

Note: This edition restores the full, original 1943 text. “To see what really expert mavens can do in applying their rule-based expertise to clearing up bad prose, get hold of a copy of The Reader Over Your Shoulder.” —The Atlantic

Author: Robert Graves

Publisher: Rosetta Books

ISBN: 9780795350467

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 640

View: 341

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“The best book on writing ever published” (Patricia T. O’Conner, author of Woe Is I). When Robert Graves and Alan Hodge decided to collaborate on this manual for writers, the world was in total upheaval. Graves had fled Majorca three years earlier at the start of the Spanish Civil War, and as they labored over their new project, they witnessed the fall of France and the evacuation of Allied forces at Dunkirk. Soon the horror of World War II would reach British soil as well, as the Luftwaffe began bombing London in an effort to destroy the resolve of the English people. Graves and Hodge believed that at a time when their whole world was falling apart, the survival of English prose sentences—of writing that was clear, concise, and intelligible—had become paramount if hope were going to outlive the onslaught. They came up with forty-one principles for writing, the majority devoted to clarity, the remainder to grace of expression. They studied the prose of a wide range of noted authors and leaders, finding much room for improvement. Successful communication could mean the difference between war and peace, life and death, and they were determined to contribute to its survival. The importance of good writing continues today, as obfuscation, propaganda, manipulative language, and sloppy standards are all too common—and this classic guide is just as useful and important as ever. Note: This edition restores the full, original 1943 text. “To see what really expert mavens can do in applying their rule-based expertise to clearing up bad prose, get hold of a copy of The Reader Over Your Shoulder.” —The Atlantic
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The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Prose Poetry

Why write prose poems? With its pioneering introduction, this collection provides a history of the development of the prose poem up to its current widespread appeal.

Author: Gary L. McDowell

Publisher: Rose Metal PressInc

ISBN: 0978984889

Category: Literary Collections

Page: 192

View: 929

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Poetry. Literary Criticism. A wide-ranging gathering of 34 brief essays and 66 prose poems by distinguished practitioners, THE ROSE METAL PRESS FIELD GUIDE TO PROSE POETRY is as personal and provocative, accessible and idiosyncratic as the genre itself. The essayists discuss their craft, influences, and experiences, all while pondering larger questions: What is prose poetry? Why write prose poems? With its pioneering introduction, this collection provides a history of the development of the prose poem up to its current widespread appeal. Half critical study and half anthology, THE FIELD GUIDE TO PROSE POETRY is a not-to-be-missed companion for readers and writers of poetry, as well as students and teachers of creative writing.
891 Download