Customer Reviews

Writing the Right Word: “ Its Effect Can Affect Your Writing”

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Writing The Right Word by writer, editor, and educator Dave Dowling (President of Write On Course, LLC, a company specializing in business and technical writing seminars...) is an excellent practical resource for writers of all skill and experience levels and backgrounds. Featuring entries in a lexicographic order, Writing The Right Word teaches aspiring writers the proper definitions of easily misused or confused words, such as levee versus levy, lightening versus lightning, spoor versus spore, and much, much more. A useful 235-page reference tool for avoiding common errors that computerized spelling-checkers will not detect, Writing The Right Word is a highly recommended and much appreciated addition to any personal or professional writing reference collection.

This is one reference book that won't languish on your shelf. Once one starts using it, it becomes second nature to double check your accuracy. My initial thought was that it was a bit slim (230+ pages), with largish type, but this is only a plus. Access becomes very quick and straightforward. The examples are clear and concise...it obviously de-fogs the memory banks (re proper word usage). ANY writer will use it and the book should be mandatory for any high school freshman (and your college student would thank you forever for the gift). Indeed, Dowling has presented us with a book that makes it much easier for writers--at the very least--to appear to be smarter...and that's a bargain. No regrets on this purchase. ((On second thought, it will help you with spoken english as well...ever use the wrong word at a meeting and feel like a schmuck?))

As a college-level instructor, I am often struck by how poorly most students use the English language. 'Writing the Right Word' is a unique and indispensible tool that can help anyone, from high school student to professional writer, learn how to write what he (or she) really means. In today's complex world, the importance of using the correct word cannot be overemphasized. This book explains the most common word confusions in a clear, concise, and 'user-friendly' format, complete with thought-provoking quotes at the beginning of each section. I found myself reading it for the sheer pleasure. Personally, I think this book should be required reading in the schools, and is definitely a 'must have' for anyone who makes his or her living as a writer. Dowling's descriptions are clear and understandable, his examples vivid and sometimes amusing. The sections on 'affect versus effect', 'that versus which' and 'who versus whom', words that rank among the most notorious for confounding the average writer, are themselves worth the price of the book.

The book is very useful and to the point. It is an excellent
resource for my business correspondence. Since people still
judge you on your ability to communicate in writing, it will
be very helpful. Will be using it frequently.

This concise guide is an excellent reference tool for any writer: published, aspiring to publish, business professional, or student. It contains most of the common word pairs that are likely to cause confusion, and provides clear definitions and examples for each. Equally importantly, this guide fills a gap that other reference texts fail to address. No writer should be without a copy!

In his practical and useful book Dave Dowling addresses the matter of style in its most literary sense--choosing not so much the right word as the BEST word(and idiom)--which often turns out to be the simplest. And a-write-ly so! But this is no dull, desktop style manual for capricious copy editors or formal grammarians. It's for anyone striving simply to write well; that is, with cogent simplicity in place of pompous verbosity. Arranged as a ready reference it's not only as eminently easy to use as your dictionary and thesaurus but just as valuable. Use it as profusely and as prolifically as you write!

Writers and readers of whatever level or passion, keep this wonderful book nearby. I thought I was hip, but I nearly wore out my highlighter marking all the word pairs explained in Dave's book that still gave me trouble. This book is the perfect way to augment your reference collection. But lovers of language--or brainteasers, even--will want to read Dowling cover to cover. Hey, wait a sec!--shouldn't that say SUPPLEMENT your reference collection?...

Does it really matter if we write assume when we mean presume, empathy instead of sympathy, endemic instead of epidemic? Yes. Words are the building blocks of the writer's craft. The wrong word may appear as out of place as a concrete block in the middle of an adobe wall.

Writing the Right Word is a wonderful collection of problem words that is alphabetically arranged and cross-referenced with clear definitions and examples of usage.

Words with similar meaning are defined, such as revolve and rotate, and words with similar spelling, such as ascent and assent. We are reminded of redundancies: ATM machine and CAD design are redundant because ATM stands for Automatic Teller Machine and CAD stands for Computer-Assisted Design

Dowling includes a quote by a famous author at the beginning of each chapter. Under M, for example, readers are treated to a wonderful quote from James A Michener "I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions."

The author, Dave Dowling, is president of Write On Course, LLC, a corporate-training company, dedicated to improving the overall writing habits of business and technical professionals. Dave credits his 25 years in industry as a technical editor, writer, and instructor as giving him the appropriate background and material for his debut work.

Writing the Right Word is a wonderful resource that will remain within easy reach on my desk.

As we are reminded from a quote by Mark Twain,
"Use the right word and not its second cousin."

reviewed by Sarah Mankowski
WordThunder.com

This excellent writing reference is going to help me on a daily basis. The book explains, in simple everyday terms, the proper use of many confusing words. I highly encourage people who are concerned about the proper use of words to consider this book!

You're at work, and you're writing something - a consumer product marketing plan, let's say. "A successful product introduction will require our company to adapt new ideas," you state. Wait a minute. Should that be `adopt' new ideas? Better check.

So, you pull out "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White, and go to the chapter entitled "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused." And . . . it's not there. OK, where's the dictionary?

Wait! This is where Dave Dowling's book "Writing the Right Word" comes in. You WILL find the difference between `adapt' and `adopt' (plus `adept,' for good measure) explained to you therein. Words or expressions are defined, and one or more examples of the correct usage are given. Everything is laid out in alphabetical order. You can't miss!

Every imaginable situation is explored in "Writing the Right Word." In addition to our adapt/adopt situation, there are homonyms (`faint' and `feint'), words which are sometimes used interchangeably but which are in fact distinctly different (`acute' and `chronic'), and words where the difference is really quite subtle (`sensual' and `sensuous').

Dowling takes us through `its' and `it's,' which people get wrong left and right. He even provides a "memory hook" for recidivists: "Possessive `its' never splits."

Dowling also reminds us to avoid redundancies like "ISP Provider" or "VIN Number." Since VIN stands for Vehicle Identification Number, just plain VIN is what you want.

Is it `anyone' or `any one?' `Someday' or `some day?' Depends! Dowling will explain.

Grammar, writing and language usage books appear ever so often. Every so often, one of them is an absolute must-have. "Writing the Right Word" is such a work.