Good grammar book

[DNW]

I need some recommendations on good English grammar books. I'm in law school now and realize that my formal writing really needs a tune up. So, I'm looking for something along the line of college or professional grammar. The more practical the book is, the better. So far I'm leaning toward The Gregg Reference Manual. Any thought?

 

[Bradford]

A few that I have are:

The Elements of Style, Strunk & White... the classic...

Better Letters and Rewrite Right, both by Jan Venolia... I don't know if these are still in print, but I've had them both for a long time and they still come in handy.

Also, Guide to Rapid Revision by Pearlman & Pearlman - again, don't know if this one is still in print.

EDIT - just looked on Amazon and you can find all of these... albeit in much newer, revised versions than the copies I have...

 

[freakseam]

It's not specific to Law studies, but The Chicago Manual Of Style is a standard reference.

 

[Todd]

I second "The Elements of Style" - also look to "Grammar Smart", Princeton Review.

Both are available in Paperback for not much money...

I found Grammar Smart to be a little friendlier, including such sections as "words we hate" and a "bad day in grammarland".

 

[Tyto]

+1 on Grammar Smart and Elements of Style. Chicago is more or less the bible for copy editors, but legal writing conflicts with it frequently--particularly with respect to abbreviations and references--so remember to stick with the Bluebook for non-grammatical conventions.

I also recommend Writing with Style, by John Trimble (very accessible and slightly more flexible than Strunk & White), J.J. Kilpatrick's The Writer's Art (just beautifully written), and Theodore Bernstein's The Careful Writer.

 

[DNW]

I have Strunk & White and some other "classic" style manuals. While they're excellent "style" manuals, they don't deal with professional or college level grammar, i.e. concise and accurate sentence and paragraph construction. So, I suppose I'm leaning more toward a grammar manual than a style manual. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by freakseam

It's not specific to Law studies, but The Chicago Manual Of Style is a standard reference.

I read on Amazon that the 15th edition has a new chapter on English grammar usage. I think this is probably what I am looking for. As a supplement to this manual though, something more practical would be helpful as well.

 

[SieurDeLaSalle]

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

I read on Amazon that the 15th edition has a new chapter on English grammar usage. I think this is probably what I am looking for. As a supplement to this manual though, something more practical would be helpful as well.

"Watch "Dick" have some Fun..."

 

[freakseam]

A Brief Handbook of English (Hulon Willis & Enno Klammer) may fit the bill.

 

[LapelQueen]

Practical English Usage, Michael Swan, OUP .
My grammar bible.