Customer Reviews

Writing Well

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2 star:		(1)
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I want to review this book even though I have a copy of the 1973 edition of this book only. Hall illuminates writing in a way that makes writing interesting. I've never considered myself a writer. Most of my educational as well as personal pursuits could be classified as "left-brained", and although I can appreciate good poetry and literature, I have maintained a disdain for attempting to produce either. Hall's writing pulled me in by explaining the elements of prose in a clear, understandable, and enjoyable way. For anyone who struggles with writing, or for anyone who has difficulty being motivated to improve their writing, this book is for you. This book puts even the fundamental parts of speech in a totally different light. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs look very different after reading this book! As a left-brained person, I used to like the concept of synonyms, never realizing that synonyms don't really exist! Who would have known that a word substituted for another word makes such a huge difference! Whether your writing is technical, poetic, or a mixture of the two, I believe this book can be a great benefit.

Writing Well has taught me more about writing than almost any other book. I use ideas and examples from it in teaching my freshman composition class. Rereading it is always a joy.

This is dry, dry stuff. Hardly worth the paper it's printed on. Buy only if you must, as for a textbook.