Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

文法女王：無痛升級學習法

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing是一本讓人對文法和語用豁然開朗的書。作者Mignon Fogarty 用不少篇幅指導讀者如何改進寫作用字、標點、大小寫、正確使用代名詞及寫電子郵件或簡訊應注意的事項。雖然這是一本談用字、語用及寫作風格(style)的書，卻是出人意料之外的有趣並且讓人讀得津津有味，若有所悟。書中的筆調輕鬆中又不失權威，解釋用法清楚易懂，可說是增進寫作功力的經典之作。

   本書一共有七個章節：

1. Dirty Words
    很精彩的一個章節，探討一般人常混淆的用字：
    A Versus An、Affect Versus Effect、Between Versus Among、Bring Versus Take、Each Versus Every、Less Versus Fewer、Then Versus Than、That VersusWhich、Lay Versus Lie及Who Versus Whom等。  
e.g. Less Versus Fewer
The quick and dirty tip is that you use less with mass nouns
and fewer with count nouns. (p.27)
Memory Tricks:
(1) 10 items or less. (wrong) (物品是可以一件一件來數)
     10 items or fewer. (correct)
(由快速結帳 (express lane)的錯誤標示來記住less和fewer的區別。)
(2) 以圖文來強化印象
圖片描述：Aardvark坐在湖邊釣魚。
例子：There is less water in the lake. We'll have fewer fish for dinner. (p.29)

2. Grammar Girl on Grammar
    討論介系詞、不規則動詞、修飾語詞(modifier)的位置、dangling modefiers及假設語氣等用法。
e.g. Squiggly ate only chocolate.
       (Squiggly ate nothing but chocolate---no fruit, no meat, just 
chocolate.)
       Squiggly only ate chocolate. 
       (All Squiggly did with chocolate was eat it. He didn't buy, melt, or sell it. He only ate it.) (p.62)

3. Let's Get It Started: Starting a Sentence
    討論句子的錯誤開頭及如何改善句子。
e.g. Don't  start a sentence with however, hopefully, a conjuncion (and, but, or, etc.), because, and a number. (p.83)
        
4. Punch Up Your Punctuation 
    談標點符號的正確用法，很精闢，值得參閱。
e.g. Squiggly wanted a short haired dog.
(Could be read to mean that Squiggle wanted a short dog with hair.)
       Squiggly wanted a short-haired dog.
(More clearly means that Squiggly wants a dog with short hair.)
(p.98)

5. Big and Tall: Capitalization
    討論名詞大寫的原則。

6. Prozac for Pronouns: Getting the Stuntmen of Language Under
    Control 
    討論代名詞的用法。

7. Internet Intervention
    討論網路相關用語的用法 (Log in Versus Log on、URLs、Links...)及寫電子郵件及簡訊應注意的事項，值得參考。

8. I'm So Stylish: Style and Writing
    寫作應避免的事項 (用字累贅、使用陳腔濫調 (cliches)、過度使用so、very 及of等)。

9. Work It
    提示尋找故事靈感的方法、如何克服寫作的瓶頸及如何校訂等，頗具啟發性。
   
    本書中的結語進一步提示文法及語用為寫作的基礎，不可忽略，要力求精進：
     I think of grammar and usage as the rules to the game of writing, and the rules are just the building blocks of creativity. Writing proper sentences doesn't ensure that your work will
be brilliant and inspiring, but knowing the rules can keep errors from marring your brilliance and inspiration.
---Mignon Fogarty  (p.191)

For more information about this book and Mignon Fogarty's podcasts on iTunes, please log on to Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.