Better Punctuation in 30 Minutes a Day (Better English) [Paperback]

Ceil Cleveland (Author)

Book Description

Series: Better English | Publication Date: September 2002

Who cares about commas, semicolons, dashes, and hyphens? Well, you should. A misplaced punctuation mark can confuse physicians and surgeons, cause thousands of dollars in legal fees, misinform judges, puzzle bankers, misguide stockbrokers...and create lumps in your pudding. You don't need a teacher with a mouthful of jargon to help you understand how to make yourself clearly understood. Better Punctuation in 30 Minutes a Day will help you teach yourself. This small, step-by-step handbook is your indispensable guide if you need to:
- Compose high school or college papers.
- Apply to college or for a job.
- Write a resume or an application.
- Communicate your thoughts to anyone, from your landlord to your loved one.You can work on your own, at your own speed, and within your own time frame.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ceil Cleveland teaches writing and literature at New York University. A former vice president at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and at Queens College of the City University of New York, she was for ten years editor-in-chief of Columbia, the Magazine of Columbia University. She is the author of four books, editor of seven, and has written more than one-hundred articles for national journals, magazines, and newspapers. She lives with her husband on Long Island. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Career Press (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156414626X
• ISBN-13: 978-1564146267
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,133,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Is this really and English book?, December 21, 2007

By 

Victoria Ehli (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Better Punctuation in 30 Minutes a Day (Better English) (Paperback)

I really would like an answer. This is a book to improve your punctuation and grammar, and you should see the first chapter. Don't believe me look inside the book.
Here are some examples in the EXERCISES of serious editing errors.
In the first exercise compound sentances this is a word for word example on page 20
Cathy caught the heel of ON of her expensive new shoes in a crack on the sidewalk and the heel of her shoe broke off. (CAPS mine)

Now you are suppose to put the commas in correctly, but using on instead of one, in an English book, is just plain wrong.

Also for exercise two the anser key didn't provide any answers; because, the text tells you to underline the phrases, and the answer key doesn't underline the correct phrases.

In exercise "More Necessary Elements" the third problem drops an entire clause between the problem and the answer key.
The problem is: My friends Hannah and Rebecca whom I haven't seen for six years are coming to visit me this week.

Again we are suppose to add in the punctuation, but when you turn to the answer key the phrase "whom I haven't seen for six years" is not addressed.

Finally, in just the first chapter, the last example is in the last exercise.

In "Items in a Series" the 2 problem is this, word for word.
"The corn beans squash tomatoes and various things are coming up the garden"
Again we are suppose to put in the commas but if I saw vegetables coming up the garden without anyone carrying them I think I would move. In the answer they do add the preposition in before the garden.

These mistakes were in the first part of the first chapter in an English book!
There are a couple of good points. Amoung them are the rules are clearly defined and the problems that have answers do make sense. It is clearly geared for adults that want to sharpen their punctuation skills, but the editorial errors overwhelm the good parts, so I have to give this two stars.