Description
Book SynopsisExcuse Me, Your Participle's Dangling will give you all the bare essentials of grammar that you need to write like a pro. The book also offers a simple yet foolproof method of writing under pressure, the key to success in any college program or workplace. If you're a businessperson, college student, or ESL student seeking a user-friendly grammar book that aims to make you a better writer, this book is for you! If you learn the information in one chapter each day, in less than two weeks, your writing will improve dramatically, and you'll grow in confidence as a writer. You'll also learn shortcuts to help you with all the types of writing you'll do in college and on the job. Try all of them. They really work, and that's a promise. To sum it up, grammar is only a means to an end, a tool to help you write better. That's something your teacher probably never told you. By understanding grammar, you'll learn how to express yourself beautifully in speaking and in writing.
Trade ReviewDoes grammar frighten you? Do predicates and participles make you panic? Relax! With this book at your side, all those seemingly complex rules become clear. In a fun and conversational style, Dr. DePino takes the mystery out of grammar and shows you the way to clearer, more persuasive writing. This book will be an invaluable tool for novices to professional writers. I know it will have a permanent place on my desk. -- Theresa Martin Golding, author of the young adult novels Niner, The Truth About Twelve, The Secret Within, and Kat's Surrender and picture books Memorial Day Surprise and Abby's Asthma and the Big Race. She has also ghost written numerous Boxcar Children mysteries. (www.theresagolding.com)
Finally, grammar has been demystified and returned to its rightful place in the creative writing process. This practical, down-to-earth and often amusing guide goes way beyond the proper use of the semi-colon or how to spot a run-on sentence. Dr. DePino shows us that grammar can be used to improve every aspect of our writing, giving our prose more punch, infusing our work with style, and even acing those dreaded essay tests. Anyone who writes needs this book -- Laura Backes, Publisher of Children's Book Insider, The Newsletter for Children's Writers (www.CBIClubhouse.com), technical editor of Writing Children's Books for Dummies, author and book doctor
Table of Contents1. Verbs: The Lifeblood of Sentences 2. How to Build a Sentence from Start to Finish 3. Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences: Big Time Blunders Corrected 4. Adjectives and Adverbs: How to Use Them Wisely 5. Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers: How to Identify and Avoid Them 6. Commas, Part I: How They Help Sentences Make Sense 7. Comma, Part II: How to Punctuate Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses and Phrases 8. The Rest of the Punctuation Marks: All You Need to Know 9. Agreement Problems: How to Spot and Solve Them 10. Words Often Confused: How to Get Them Straight 11. Writing Style: What It Is and How to Get It 12. How to Write Under Pressure Using a Foolproof Plan
