22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent resource for writers of all abilities, November 17, 2010
This review is from: Rhetorical Grammar (6th Edition) (Paperback)
Conversational, accessible, and well-organized, "Rhetorical Grammar" is an excellent resource for writers of all abilities. Even for people who love to write, grammar review and revision can be a dreadful affair. Many of us can recall the grammar exercises of our youth, with their repetition and rules without contextual meaning. Kolln and Gray make grammar relevant, almost interesting!--by returning it to its rhetorical context: how, when, and why we use words to communicate.
The text starts off gently, introducing us to the concept of breaking sentences into subjects and predicates and going on from there (goodbye, old rules! hello, improved understanding!). I loved language even as a kid, but while I understood good vs. bad writing, I could never properly articulate how I knew. "Rhetorical Grammar" helps us name what works in a sentence and what doesn't, through discussion, examples, and exercises that build gently from chapter to chapter. The exercises are simple but very useful as reinforcements of what we learn in each section.
This is not a workbook; it's a conversation between the writers and the readers who want to improve their writing. Well-indexed, easy to use, and definitely a keeper.
P.S.: If you're getting this because it was assigned for a class, don't begrudge your professor. She or he is doing you a great service by making you get something you'll be able to use for the remainder of your writing career, no matter what your profession.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely helpful, May 2, 2011
This review is from: Rhetorical Grammar (6th Edition) (Paperback)
As an international graduate student, I find myself writing English with the same grammar of my native language. You can imagine how effective that is. The book informs my writing decisions, but as any material related with this topic, reading it is barely the first step. I have it next to my laptop whenever I write, and hopefully, practice will allow me to avoid its pages more and more.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Okay Grammar Book, June 23, 2011
This review is from: Rhetorical Grammar (6th Edition) (Paperback)
While this book is good to go through if you have the time, it's not good as a reference book. Use it only if you want an in-depth grammar textbook. I do have to say though, even as a textbook, there were times that I wished it was more like a dictionary (a dictionary that would use words I knew if I was a new-to-grammar person).
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