Customer Reviews

50 Ways to Help You Write: Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts to Help You Write Like a Pro

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For me, writing has always been difficult and I've never found a book to help, but "50 Ways to Help You Write" by Fran Shaw, Ph. D. has solved that problem. Whether it's letters, memos, stories or essays, Shaw's book is invaluable with its straightforward advice. The book is easy to read with well-written samples, exercises, and experiments, from clearing writer's block to editing your own work. You'll be writing like a pro in no time with this guide's clear-cut methods. I recommend this book for anyone who writes for business, pleasure or school. It's the only book you'll need. Rating: Five stars.

Whether you want to write poems, magazine articles, technical business memos, persuasive letters, the "great American novel," your resume, or an essay for English class, Dr. Fran Shaw's book "50 Ways to Help You Write" can help you. This book is widely used in college classrooms today to assist writers in all stages of their development. This is a timeless textbook, right up there with William Strunk's classic "The Elements of Style."

"50 Ways to Help You Write" is a precise, succinct and extremely helpful compendium of writing tips and styles. Shaw covers everything from the scary sight of a blank piece of paper to the value of editing your work. There are lots of model documents, writing experiments for fiction and non-fiction writers, templates for students, and meditative exercises to get going. When getting started, Shaw says, "Don't edit or criticize while you're writing: that will happen later. At the moment, you want only to write abundantly without concerning yourself about impressing some future reader."

For those of us who can not remember when to use an apostrophe, how to cut out extra words or how to decide on the correct verb tense, there is a chapter for you. Shaw also emphasizes the importance of proofreading and why it pays. She points out that errors in spelling, typing, punctuation and grammar become distracting to your reader.

The section of the book written especially for students I found to be extremely helpful. Shaw tells students how to organize a paper quickly, how to turn questions into thesis statements, and how to revise a thesis so that it fits the paper that is evolving. She emphasizes the importance of key words, establishing the main points, and supporting them with details and examples. Even a student who has written many thesis papers will find her advice valuable. Highly recommended. Rating: Five stars.