Polishing Your Prose: How to Turn First Drafts Into Finished Work

Cahn, Steven; Cahn, Victor

ISBN 10: 0231160895 / ISBN 13: 9780231160896

Published by Columbia University Press, 2013

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Polishing Your Prose: How to Turn First ...

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Publication Date: 2013

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis:

This singular book illustrates how to edit a piece of prose and enhance its clarity of thought and felicity of style. The authors first present ten principles of effective composition, and then scrutinize three extended paragraphs, suggesting with remarkable specificity how to improve them. The volume also offers challenging practice questions, as well as two finished essays, one serious and one humorous, that demonstrate how attention to sound mechanics need not result in mechanical writing. Steven M. Cahn and Victor L. Cahn help readers deploy a host of corrective strategies, such as avoiding jargon, bombast, and redundancy; varying sentence structure; paring the use of adjectives and adverbs; properly deploying phrases and clauses; and refining an argument. Here is a book for all who seek to increase their facility in written communication.

Review:

The authors, both exceptionally talented writers and teachers, present the material at the right level of detail, organize it well, and engage their readers. The book is an invaluable resource for anyone serious about writing well.--Peter Markie, University of Missouri