18 Jul 2005 - 16:59

teach your kids to write

This sounds just great:

"If you write for a living," says Jefferson D. Bates in Writing with Precision, "this book is probably not for you." But if what you do for a living involves writing, then this book can help you do so "clearly, concisely, and PRECISELY." Bates is fond of italics, boldface, CAPS, exclamations!, quirky footnotes, and the word crotchet. He's over 80. He's been editorial director of the U.S. Air Force's Effective Writing Program and a chief speechwriter for NASA. The cornerstone of his campaign is the elimination of bureaucratese and jargon. Writing with Precision, originally published in 1978, is divided into four parts: writing (mainly letters, memos, instructions, regulations, and reports), editing (mostly copyediting), usage, and exercises. There is a definite personality behind this readable, conversational book. It's mostly updated, though a little checking by Bates could have prevented the reference to some books as being "probably out of print now."

Talk about a book that's withstood the test of time. 1978. Wow.

I may have to order a copy.

Especially since it has EXERCISES.

Writing with Precision: How to Write So that You Cannot Possibly Be Misunderstood
by Jefferson D. Bates

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My job as an auditor requires me to produce a lot of reports that will be picked over by management in great detail. The precision of my wording as well as my facts is very important. I can expect a lot of argument since my job is essentially critisicing people.

I read this book when I was studying for my degree and found it very valuable. It has been with me ever since. I reccommend it very highly and am very glad to see others value it as well.

- Anton J Aylward, CISA,

-- KtmGuest - 18 Jul 2005

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OH fantastic!

Thank you so much--

I'm going to put it over on the 'Recommended Reading' page NOW, before I forget.

Thanks for taking the time to let us know.

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Jul 2005

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OK, I've just got it posted here:

Favorite Math Supplements

(We need to re-name 'favorite math supplements' since that page has books for English Language arts, too.)

-- CatherineJohnson - 18 Jul 2005