Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40968 in Books
• Published on: 1995-07-13
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 226 pages

Customer Reviews

Good practical principles for writing well - clearly set out
Am only 2/3 of the way through this book, bought while looking for works for science postgraduates, to help them with their writing. This one deals perceptively with the intangibles - concision, clarity, cohesiveness - that many scientific writing books mention but never quite get to the bottom of. Its focus is on what readers need from text, and this is of course what drives what the writer has to put there. The ideas have been around for a while, but what is new is that Williams is able to articulate them as clear principles, which a writer could follow in revising his/her own work. They work, too. Thus this book suffers less from the fate of others, which is to drown in a series of hundreds of illustrative examples. There are also very perceptive examples of how writers go about writing. Well worth a read. For scientists and postgraduate science students: this book is excellent, and will probably clear up a lot of your uncertainty about how to write well.I would think it would take you well beyond the standard of writing required in a thesis. For others - if you ever send email, this is for you! Email is perhaps the easiest form of text toget down on paper. Email offers you several opportunities each day to exercise your skills at revising first drafts. With this book, you too can produce messages which pack an information-loaded punch, and are also enjoyable to read.

The best writing book EVER!
Go to any bookstore (cyber or otherwise) - see writing books arrayed row upon row. Now, take down a copy of "Style" by Joseph Williams, and leave Zinsser and Strunk & White collecting dust on the shelf, because William's is the only one you'll ever need. Williams describes the actual writing process better than anyone, and presents a method which an aspiring writer may employ to accomplish his or her writing goals - whatever they are! And he does it without recourse to the usual grammatical rules and "mechanics of writing" approach. That approach [resumptive modifier!] never helped anyone become a better writer - and it sure discouraged a lot of us!

Make no mistake! This is not beach reading, as Williams himself would tell you. Williams develops an entire system of writing over the course of the book, adding to it chapter by chapter. If you're not used to sustained intellectual effort, or if you have a short attention span, this book will definitely be a stretch. It requires prolonged concentration. But if you put forth the effort, it will be rewarded! I've read this book through at least eight times cover to cover, and while I'm not a great writer, I've improved immeasurably.

My compliments to Professor Williams - a great book!

You're Better Off if You Buy - Ten Lessons
By itself, this book is helpful. But its not nearly as helpful as Williams other book "Style - Ten Lessons Towards Clarity & Grace," which is also available through Amazon.com. This version of Style simply presents Williams' theories about writing, but it does not provide the reader with the "workbook" drills that are contained in "Ten Lessons." A reader will only understand the value of Williams' techniques after he's had a chance to apply them. I recommend this book without reservation, but believe that most readers will benefit more from the "Ten Lessons" version.