The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors [Hardcover]

R. M. Ritter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198662394 | ISBN-13: 978-0198662396 | Publication Date: May 11, 2000 | Edition: 2

This book provides a one-stop reference with comprehensive and helpful advice on a very broad range of issues encountered when writing or editing, either professionally or whilst studying. A completely expanded, revised, and updated version of the first edition, it presents the house style of Oxford University Press, drawing on the experience of the Dictionary Department and the Press in-house academic desk editors. It gives clear advice on common spelling difficulties, names of people and places, foreign words and phrases, abbreviations, and broad aspects of usage, including capitalization and punctuation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sure, you could consult a dictionary to find out that pepo is the flesh of a fruit such as melon or squash. A decent biographical reference could probably tell you the nationality (English), occupation (novelist), and life span (1864-1950) of Robert Smythe Hichens. Wondering about Hepplewhite? Consult a volume on the history of furniture. All you'd need to figure out that Dahomey is the area now known as Benin is a historical atlas, and a cooking reference would possibly define Périgord, a form of cooking based on truffles. The same information can also be found in this revised edition of The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, which has the added benefit of taking up only one linear inch of shelf space. It's British, mind you, but editor R. M. Ritter does the courtesy of including American English spellings as well (we say "persnickety," they say "pernickety"). This is the kind of book that sets a copy editor--or anyone else per(s)nickety about word use--aquiver. In addition to its usefulness as a style book, the Oxford Dictionary defines a large number of sometimes obscure publishing terms--shoulder head, perispomenon, catchword, and sprinkled edges among them. --Jane Steinberg

From Booklist

Revised, expanded, and updated edition of a title first published in 1981 provides guidance on common spelling errors, abbreviations, confusable words, foreign words and phrases, differences between British and American English, allusions, and more. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (May 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198662394
• ISBN-13: 978-0198662396
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,972,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting compilation, September 17, 2000

By 

kyara - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors (Hardcover)

The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors is an interesting compilation of the correct British spelling of unusual or easily-confused words including abbreviations, place names as well as famous and not so famous names connected with history, literature and politics. I would highly recommend it to journalists and editors, who need to know that Maldon is in Essex, that the battle of Malplaquet was in 1709, or that Benazir Bhutto (b. 1953, former prime minister of Pakistan from 1988-90 and 1993-96) is the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928-79), former president (1971-73) and prime minister (1973-77) of Pakistan. A lot of the entries, such as "malcontent not malecontent," could easily be looked up in a dictionary, but you would certainly need a whole reference library to find the other entries. Overall a useful addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in words.