I have always corrected grammar silently: in print, in speech, and in general. When I decided to take my word nerdiness to more than a hobby, I signed up for a proofreading course. I discovered that as a blogger, and now a proofreader, I was not as polished as I had thought. I love to give the world a great read with the most professional look possible whether it is my clients’ work or mine. Our audience deserves it, and our words deserve it. Am I right? So I began to look for and research the best grammar and punctuation books out there. My proofreading course helped with some great suggestions. I’d like to introduce you to two books and a website that I know will help you deliver a more polished piece to your audience.
The Best Punctuation Book, Period By June Casagrande
Those pesky commas! How ’bout those hyphens? Should I use a semi-colon here? As difficult as it is to edit and proofread our “babies,” the English punctuation system doesn’t make it any easier. This book is extremely helpful no matter what type of writing you are doing. Whether you are a novelist, a journalist, or a scientist, this book will undoubtedly help you navigate the punctuation problems we all face. The author addresses CMOS, MLA, AP, and APA styles side by side with easily understood explanations of the differences when there are any.
With a table of contents that lists the top 18 punctuations, an alphabetized section highlighting “problem children,” appendixes that explain grammar and parts of speech for better understanding, and an index that covers the rest, this book is dog-eared and treasured by many writers. I especially love the easy-to-read key to the different writing conventions. Are you a blogger? June suggests the news style if you are not bound by another, but once you pick a style, stay consistent! Part II of the book is helpful when you are wrestling with those problem words. For example, is it cell phone or cellphone? Well, in book style it’s two words while in news and science it is one.
This book can be found on Amazon in paperback or for Kindle. It is a great investment if you are looking to improve your punctuation prowess.
The Blue Book Of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus and Lester Kaufman
Another well-worn book on my desk, this one gives a little more instruction in grammar, capitalization, and number writing than Casagrande’s book. It, too, has a chapter on confusing words and homonyms. I’m sure you don’t have any problems with their vs. there vs. they’re, but what about lay vs. lie? Or assure vs. ensure vs. insure? These words won’t get noticed by your word processor or Grammarly. It is always good practice to double-check them if you’re not sure.
Another feature of this book is its quizzes in the back. If you are inclined to improve your grammar and punctuation skills, you will find these invaluable. One thing it won’t do as well as The Best Punctuation Book, Period is specify the style, but “The authors provide rules, guidance, and examples based on areas of general agreement among the authorities. Where the authorities differ, this book provides options to follow based on the reader’s purpose in writing with this general advice: be consistent.” Again, I found my copy on Amazon.
Quick and Dirty Tips Website
Grammar Girl’s own Mignon Fogarty has gone above and beyond her grammar tips book to form the quickanddirtytips.com website. For grammar and punctuation tips, Mignon has over two thousand articles and podcasts to search from. Aside from writing tips, this site also offers articles and tips from health, relationships, and finance to business, parenting, and pets. It would be a great research tool, but be sure you have time to browse. If you’re on a deadline, you may need someone to keep you from getting lost in all the yummy goodness this site has to offer (although there is a productivity section as well 😉 ).
The podcasts on this site are helpful if you want to learn as you’re driving or dusting or washing the dishes. I listened to one the other day on hyphens. Using humor and plenty of examples, it succeeded in clearing up some confusion I was having with them. I also went back when I had time to read the article because seeing the examples made the explanation even better.
Enjoy discovering these awesome resources, all you word nerds out there! Now if your creative bent has more to do with the story or message and less to do with the technical “stuff,” then please check out my services page and see how I can help you polish that masterpiece to perfection and stand out!