The following books are listed in no particular order. If you normally buy from a different Amazon site (e.g. Amazon.co.uk) or other on-line store, simply copy and paste the ISBN (e.g. 097522980X) into the site search box.

The Elements of Style, William Strunk (http://amazon.com/dp/097522980X)

On Writing, Stephen King (http://amazon.com/dp/0671024256)

On Writing Well, William Zinsser (http://amazon.com/dp/0060891548)

Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, Mignon Fogarty (http://amazon.com/dp/0805088318)

100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, Gary Provost (http://amazon.com/dp/0451627210)

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott (http://amazon.com/dp/0385480016)

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, Natalie Goldberg (http://amazon.com/dp/1590302613)

Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss (http://amazon.com/dp/1592402038)

Grammatically Correct, Anne Stilman (http://amazon.com/dp/1582973318)

Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing, Claire Kehrwald Cook (http://amazon.com/dp/0395393914)

The Well-Fed Writer, Peter Bowerman (http://amazon.com/dp/0967059844)

The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds, Peter Bowerman (http://amazon.com/dp/0967059852)

Techniques of the Selling Writer, Dwight V. Swain (http://amazon.com/dp/0806111917)

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, Jenna Glatzer (http://amazon.com/dp/097220265X)

The Book on Writing, Paula LaRocque (http://amazon.com/dp/0966517695)

This is by no means an exhaustive list but one that may lead you in the right direction with your writing. So why not grab yourself a few early Christmas presents.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

By linking sentences and paragraphs together smoothly, the reader is not distracted by jumps or breaks in ideas or scenes. Sometimes the writer is just too close to the material to see that these cues are missing.

Repeating keywords can help. Pick up a keyword from the previous sentence or paragraph. Doing this can help to sew sentences or paragraphs together.
 
Another way of doing this without being too wordy is to use short phrases that recall the previous sentence:

 “This is why we must…”
 “Because of this…”
 “This is a problem because…”

You can also choose to use specific transitional words or phrases:

Addition Transitions (adding to a point): along with, also, as well as, but also, furthermore, in addition to, moreover, not only, on top of this

Comparison Transitions (similar things): comparatively, identical, likewise, similarly

Concluding Transitions (to end a section): finally, for these reasons, in conclusion, in short, on the whole, therefore, thus, to sum up

Contrast Transitions (to highlight opposition): although, but, conversely, despite this, however, in contrast, nonetheless, on the other hand, still, whereas, yet

Example Transitions (when giving evidence): for example, for instance, in fact, to illustrate, specifically, that is

Place Marker Transitions (to move the reader from point to point): above, adjacent to, below, beyond, finally, lastly, next, second

Time Transitions: after, afterwards, before, during, formerly, meanwhile, now, prior, soon, subsequently, then

More importantly, transitions should be invisible, just like punctuation. They should not draw attention to themselves; instead they should draw the reader along with the story/article/etc…

Transitions should flow naturally and connect each sentence or paragraph effectively so as to present your writing as a complete whole.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

Their is the possessive form of them/they.

They’re is a contraction of they are.

See how easy that was, yet so many people still get these words mixed up. And these three little words sound exactly the same, which is part of the problem.

Now let’s look at them in some sentences so we can see why they are different:

• He left his books over there.
• Their ice-creams melted in the hot sun.
• They’re going to be late if they don’t hurry up.

Here are a few little tricks you can try that should help you to remember the differences:

• If you can replace there with here, then you need to use there.
• If you can replace their with his, our or my, then you need to use their.
• If you can replace they’re with they are, then you need to use they’re.

The example below shows all three words used in one sentence: 

Their dog threw up in the garden over there where they’re about to plant some tomatoes. 

In most cases if you have ruled out their and they’re you probably need there.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

To lay or to lie, that is the question (as Shakespeare might say, or ask). One of the main reasons we get these wrong is because we get them confused with their past tense versions.

The past tense of lay is laid, and the past tense of lie is lay—hence the confusion. (Note: never use layed, the correct spelling is laid.)

Remember that lay means ‘to put or place’ and lie means ‘to rest or recline’.

Present tense example:
You lay your book on the desk, and it will lie there until you pick it up again.

Past tense example:
Yesterday he laid his book on the desk, and it lay there until he picked it up.

A handy mnemonic:
Lay is tr(a)nsitive – a verb that takes an object. Ask yourself: lay what down?
Lie is (i)ntransitive – a verb that doesn’t need an object. Tell yourself: it’s already down.

If you’re still having trouble remembering which one to use, try replacing lay/lie with the word ‘place’. If the sentence sounds right with the word ‘place’ then you need to use lay, if not, use lie.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

What makes things even more confusing is that these same elements are used differently in different countries.

Quotation marks are mostly used to show direct speech and to quote the work of other writers. They are also used for song titles, journal article titles, unpublished document titles, chapter titles of published works, essays, lectures, and to draw attention to certain words (sometimes called scare quotes).

According to the Style manual for authors, editors and printers (6^th edn) single quotation marks are used in Australian government publications, with a push towards this minimalistic use of punctuation to be accepted across the board. Whereas in America, double quotation marks are preferred.

When closing quotations, the decision of where to place the closing punctuation can be a tricky one. If the punctuation mark is part of the quote, keep it inside the quotation mark. If it is not, place it outside the quotation mark.

Though interestingly this is in direct contrast to what is followed in America, with most closing punctuation being place inside the quotation mark.

Example:

‘I do love you’, she replied. (Australian)

“I do love you,” she replied. (American)

Notice the difference in the closing quotation marks, one being before the punctuation and the other being after.

It is not necessary to use quotation marks with indirect speech, to enclose familiar expressions, or when following the expression so called.

Quotations that are more than thirty words long should be indented from the margin and set in a smaller type, and do not require any quotation marks (but remember to cite your source). 

If at all possible it is best to follow the required style of the intended publication, as the editor will most likely change all of the punctuation to their house style anyway. But if all else fails and the writer is still confused, just sticking to the style they know best should get them through.

Effective writers understand the importance of varying between shorter and longer sentences. Like a musician, or well-versed public speaker, you must understand how to use words and sounds to add emphasis where needed.

The short sentence adds stress or speed. It gets to the point. It punches the reader in the lip, so to speak. For example:

I love you. I feel things with you. I haven’t felt that before.

With this passage readers know exactly what the writer or character is saying. Every word matters in the short sentence. Take another example:

I love you because I feel things with you, and I haven’t felt that before in my life.

It doesn’t resonate as deeply as the first passage, does it? The chopped up sentences are more effective. The length makes the difference.

The complex, compound sentence has its rightful place as well. It conveys a stream of consciousness or intense emotion in fiction. For example:

That dog has found my last nerve, and do you know what that means? It means that from here on out, you’ll be walking that mutt, and you’ll be fetching its water and nasty canned food and cleaning up the pee stains all over the house while I nap or watch Kath & Kim while sipping on some plonk with my sister. That’s what it means!

The anger and authenticity of this passage is highlighted by the free-flowing length. Readers feel the words pouring from the character’s mouth. (Notice the last sentence, which is considerably shorter than the rest of the passage, is where the emphasis falls.)

After taking into account sentence length and purpose, remember: the key is balance. Too many short sentences make the writer seem childish or immature. The reader gets bored. Overuse of lengthy sentences creates the same results. Essentially, you don’t want monotony in your writing.

If you’re wondering which sentence type you lean toward, there’s a simple formula many English professors teach their students. Find an essay you’ve recently written, and highlight 25 random lines. Count the number of words in each sentence. Add those together. Next, divide the number by 25. This is your average number of words per sentence. If you’re below 14, consider using longer sentences in your writing. Anything over 22 indicates you’re using too many compound or complex sentences. Chop them up. If you’re between 14 and 22, take an overall look at your sentences. Are you presenting a variety of lengths and structures? Read the paper out loud. Does it flow? If you believe something sounds out of place, then it probably is.  

Learning the ‘rhythm of writing’ isn’t something you’ll learn overnight, but with practice you’ll catch areas in your writing that lack variety and you’ll learn how to transform your sentences into memorable prose.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

When words sound the same but have different meanings they are called homophones. These three words all sound the same but look different. So let’s have a look at these differences between two, too and to:

Two – the number 2. Other words that signify the number 2 generally start with or include the letters tw, e.g. twenty, twins, twice, between.

Too – also, as well, in excess, excessively. Too is an adverb (modifies a verb).

To – everything else that the first two don’t apply to. To usually begins a prepositional phrase or an infinitive (because it’s a preposition).
To make it a little easier to see and hear the differences, let’s look at the examples below:

• He held two cards in his hand.
• He drank too much alcohol that night.
• He went to the bathroom many times that night.

With the first sentence ask yourself ‘how many cards,’ and see if a number is needed. With the second sentence ask yourself ‘how much alcohol,’ and if you can replace it with ‘excess alcohol,’ you most likely need the word too. And with the last sentence ask yourself if either a number or a reference to ‘also/excess’ is needed—if not, you need to.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

1. Use commas between the clauses in compound sentences. This is where you join two sentences together with a conjunction – a word like and, but, so.

Example: The cat leapt, but the mouse escaped.

The two clauses could form two separate, simple sentences.

2. Put commas around words that you can leave out and still have a sentence that makes sense. The words inside the commas will be clauses or phrases that give additional meaning.

Example: As the cat leapt from the garden wall, the mouse, which had been snuffling around the flower bed, scuttled back into its hole.

This simple advice is particularly helpful because you don’t have to recognise a phrase, or know the difference between an adjectival or an adverbial clause, or a dependent or independent clause, and you can still get it right.

The clause about the mouse in example 2 above is adjectival. It is also a dependent clause, because if we read it on its own, we don’t know what it refers to. But none of that really matters when you’re writing, because you know it gives extra meaning and you have to put commas around it.

3. About the exception for clauses or phrases after conjunctions.

In the middle sentence of the paragraph above, there is a comma before the word because, but not after it to separate the clause, if we read it on its own. That is an exception to the rule we’ve just been discussing. If it follows a conjunction like and, so, but, or because, there is no need for a comma before the clause. This is an important one to note, because, if, as I am deliberately doing here, you include these commas, your work reads in a stilted, difficult way, and you could be accused of overuse of commas.

4. Adverbial clauses are clauses which tell more of the why, where or when of the activity of the sentence – the verb. Sometimes they are crucial to the meaning of the sentence. If that is the case, there is another rule exception; they don’t have to follow a comma.

Example: The cat leapt from the garden wall when it saw the mouse snuffling around the flower bed.

However, if you make that last clause an introductory one, you must include the comma.

Example: When it saw the mouse snuffling around the flower bed, the cat leapt from the garden wall.

5. With clarity of meaning the comma changes the meaning in the examples below.

Example: Alice thought the mouse had been snuffling around the flower bed.

Example: Alice, thought the mouse, had been snuffling around the flower bed.

These are not the only uses for commas, but they are often the ones writers get wrong. With a little extra knowledge about sentence structure that includes phrases and clauses, they are less likely to make mistakes with commas.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

That can be used as a demonstrative pronoun, an adjective, a conjunction and sometimes as an adverb. But the most confused use of that occurs when the writer is not sure if they should use that or which.

That is often omitted when it is used to introduce a noun clause or after a verb that expresses a process.

Example:
The book that he read was Oliver Twist.
The book he read was Oliver Twist.

The second example reads fine without the that. This is quite common in modern writing and is in line with Strunk’s ‘omit needless words’ mantra.

That is also used after a restrictive clause; meaning that it restricts the clause that it follows so no confusion is made.

Example:
He picked up the books that were on the bedroom floor.

In this example that restricts the books being referred to and serves to avoid confusion as to which books are being picked up.

Which can be used to introduce direct or indirect questions, as well as in relative clauses.

Which is usually preferred after a non-restrictive clause; meaning the information after which does not have to refer directly to the clause it follows as it is only adding extra information.

Example:
He got the job, which lead to his improved finances.

In this example which is only adding some extra information, it is not restrictive in that it is not referring directly to him getting the job.

It’s no wonder we get confused with these two words, especially when it is possible to sometimes swap the two. Which can also be used in place of that in a relative clause, though this is usually as a style choice.

To try and keep their usage straight in your mind, remember the following:

That is used to clarify. Which is used to add extra information.

© Kristy Taylor 2008

Than is used to make a comparison between things, usually after a comparative adjective or adverb, to introduce a second clause or element that is not equal.

Examples:

• John is shorter than Jenny.
• His singing was louder than hers.
• The kidney operation was more urgent than the facelift.

Then is used to differentiate time, usually to indicate when something occurs in a particular timeframe or sequence.

Examples:

• Finish your dinner and then brush your teeth.
• I’ll jog to the bench and then I’ll sprint to the fence.
• The invoice was for $100.00, but then there was tax added as well.

A good mnemonic to use could be:
Than = a for comparing an apple to an orange
Then = e for an event in time

Remember, than is only used to make a comparison. So if you are comparing something, use than, and if you are not comparing something, use then. I told you it was easy!

© Kristy Taylor 2007