Has anyone read it? Is it better than Ernest Gowers's Complete Plain Words, or the essay on style in Strunk & White?

I have a lovely new student who works for a shipping company and knows his emails and reports are excessively formal and verbose. He's having a crash course on style and I want to direct him to the best grammar books as he is very insecure about correct usage. The ones I use are a little old fashioned, but I've heard mixed reports about the Lynne Truss.

What are your grammar bibles?

Lost for Words by John Humphreys is very good - he gets so cross and grumpy about certain punctuation points.

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Not so much of a bible though, that one.

David Crystal for me, all days, because he's a descriptive grammarian rather than a prescriptive one. Haven't read the truss but I did hear her lovely autobiographical book about when she was a sports reporter and loved it, so I think reading anything by her would have to be A Good Thing, in the hope that some her lovely style could rub off.

Eats Shoots & Leaves is fine for the anecdotes, but not particularly useful for style. And if your student to already too formal, I wouldn't bother with Strunk & White.

My basic grammar bible is OUP's Everyday Grammar - though David Crystal is a bit more comprehensive, he's not quite as clear. (Only grouse with OUP is no index - how stupid is that?). And The Penguin Guide to Punctuation is very, very good and easy to use.

Can't bear everything I've ever heard said about Strunk and White. Tend to use Fowler for usage.

Emma

Sounds like he needs something along the lines of 'Plain English' - there's a campaign for that which might have some publications.

The Oxford Guide to English Usage is good for obscure grammar points etc.

& George Orwell's essay, Politics and the English Language - though rather dated now - is effective in getting the reader to think analytically about style.

Strunk and White has been updated - the new edition came out last year, I think. It's beautifully illustrated (yup, you'd better believe it!) and is a delightfully elegant thing to hold. The tone is whimsical and in parts even quite humourous. The book's mantra - "make every word tell" - is also pretty dififcult to beat...and sounds as though it would serve your student well, cherys.

http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Illustrated-William-Strunk/dp/0143112724

Thanks Trilby - I liked the original. Think it got bad press for its Americanisms. And of course, grammar changes with fashion so some of the advice was out of date. But the central essay which, as you say, said to make every word count, was a style classic.

There is something immensely reassuring about a comprehensive grammar that says make every word count and is only about 100 pages long! Off to get it. Illustrated eh?

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I want to look at the John Humphreys and the Crystal too.

Personally I wouldn't touch John Humphreys with a barge pole. He's stuck in a time warp as far as language is concerned, I think. David Crystal is what they use for "A" level English Language.