Customer Reviews

Edit Yourself : A manual for everyone who works with words

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a professional editor, I rely on many tools. I consistently return to Ross-Larson's book because it is thorough while being easy to use. I can find what I want fast. I particularly like his list of word substitutes: after reading "in addition to" and "in view of the fact that" a hundered times, I forget the simple substitutes. Ross-Larson's book consistently brings me out of the engineering woods.

I am a professor in a business school. I have recommended this book (and its previous edition) for more than ten years to students who want to improve their writing.

If you want to make your writing clear and concise, you will find it hard to beat this book as a desk reference. It is well organized, easy to use, and concise. The book is itself a great example of good writing.

Do you forget when to use "although" and "while"? Do you forget to avoid using rhetorical questions in your writing? (Oops!) This book has an alphabetically organized list of common errors. You can look under "although" or "while" to find the rules for choosing between these words.

After reading thousands of student papers, correspondence from businesspersons, and memos from faculty, I am convinced that the single thing a writer can do to improve his or her writing is to avoid passive voice. This book has a clear definition of passive voice with examples and guidance on how to avoid falling into this rut. It also points out the few situations in which a writer would want to use passive voice intentionally.

The book is well organized and useful to a wide range of writers. Truly terrible writers will find that the book can help them move their writing up a notch. Mediocre writers can find one or two things in the book that they can change about their writing and become good writers. Good writers will find the book dog-eared in a short time as they look up rules when they know a rule exists but they cannot quite remember what the rule says.

I have worn out two copies of this book. It's great.

This is a handy, concise, and easy-to-use book. In it, Bruce Ross-Larson teaches you how to become a stronger writer. Drawing upon his experience as a professional editor, the author provides a long list of crutch words and phrases, that is, words and phrases that are often overused and that weaken one's writing. He then suggests replacements used by professional writers and journalists. Every aspiring writer should own a copy.

As a writer I am certainly interested in making my work more clear, concise and correct. Edit Yourself is a useful resource. It's not fun reading. There's no style or humor in this grammar guide whatsoevr but if all you want is a list of rules this book will do it for you.

I got this book to help me write more effectively in my dissertation, but I think the material would be useful for many different types of writing. The book does an excellent job of providing both general and specific advice on self-editing, with the overall goal of developing a more concise writing style. The suggestions are not simply stated however, and the pages are filled with many examples of how to implement the improvements.

I liked this book so much I bought another for my managing editor. It's quick, succinct and easy to follow. Particularly useful is the author's list of substitutes for overused words such as "utilize," -- a word I'd never use(shoot me if you see it!), but which a lot of would-be writers do. I bought my copy used and I'm sure I'll be getting a newer copy soon; I'm constantly looking something up. If you edit yourself or other people, "Edit Yourself" belongs on your desk, right next to Strunk and White.

This handy, concise manual helps those interested in brushing their writing styles to build reference lists of common proofreading adjustments. First the author covers daily writing problems related to fat, inconsistency and failure to keep parallel grammatical constructions. Then, in part II, he presents an A-Z word and phrase list to cut, change and compare. "Edit Yourself" is a must-have desk companion.

I use it constantly. Its brief, to the point, and I refer to it constantly.

I ordered this book at the suggestion of someone with whom I had had a conversation about a grammar specific. It answered my question -- and many more. I shall refer to it with some regularity.

This manual is not a replacement for any edition of Strunk and White. Think of it as a more-specific, complementary volume to buy alongside it. The first half of the book is divided into chapters on specific problem areas. The last half is an alphabetical index of problem words and phrases, many of them highly annotated. Skilled writers likely will identify one or more ways to be brief and concise, or to be clearer. College freshmen, who must become writers, require these two books ("The Elements of Style," "Edit Yourself") to transform poorly-articulated good ideas into coherent written thought. Fundamentals of writing are poorly and inconsistently transmitted in U.S. high schools today. Either of these volumes is worthy of consideration as supplemental texts in an advanced high school writing class.

It is hardly worth mentioning, but I should note that "Edit Yourself" is highly affordable, whether bought new or used. Try reading it over breakfast for a couple of weeks. It will put you miles ahead of colleagues expressing ideas of the form, "It is my informed opinion that..." followed by several abortively deployed three-syllable words.