The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Hardcover

Ritter, R. M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198662394 ISBN 13: 9780198662396

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2000

Synopsis

This book provides a one-stop reference with comprehensive and helpful advice on a very broad range of issues encountered when writing or editing, either professionally or whilst studying. A completely expanded, revised, and updated version of the first edition, it presents the house style of Oxford University Press, drawing on the experience of the Dictionary Department and the Press in-house academic desk editors. It gives clear advice on common spelling difficulties, names of people and places, foreign words and phrases, abbreviations, and broad aspects of usage, including capitalization and punctuation.

About this title

Review

Sure, you could consult a dictionary to find out that pepo is the flesh of a fruit such as melon or squash. A decent biographical reference could probably tell you the nationality (English), occupation (novelist), and life span (1864-1950) of Robert Smythe Hichens. Wondering about Hepplewhite? Consult a volume on the history of furniture. All you'd need to figure out that Dahomey is the area now known as Benin is a historical atlas, and a cooking reference would possibly define Périgord, a form of cooking based on truffles. The same information can also be found in this revised edition of The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, which has the added benefit of taking up only one linear inch of shelf space. It's British, mind you, but editor R. M. Ritter does the courtesy of including American English spellings as well (we say "persnickety," they say "pernickety"). This is the kind of book that sets a copy editor--or anyone else per(s)nickety about word use--aquiver. In addition to its usefulness as a style book, the Oxford Dictionary defines a large number of sometimes obscure publishing terms--shoulder head, perispomenon, catchword, and sprinkled edges among them. --Jane Steinberg

About the Author

Robert Ritter as an Editor for more than ten years in OUP's Academic Division; currently he is Publications Manager for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. His wide-ranging editorial experience has been gained in a variety of publishing houses in both the UK and the USA. He is the editor of The Oxford Guide to Style (2002), which is the companion volume to The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors (2nd edition 2000); he has also been a consultant editor for the Concise Oxford Dictionary and consultant for OWLS (the Oxford English Dictionary Word and Language Service).

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0198662394
• ISBN 13: 9780198662396
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 416