Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences: A Guide to Avoiding the Most Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation

Long overdue: a clear, good-humored discussion targeting only the most common errors in American sentences―nothing more.

This is a focused, respectful, entertaining guide to getting our sentences into good shape. After thirty-five years of teaching writing, Janis Bell knows which sentences those are and precisely what ails them. She describes grammar and usage problems in ways that make immediate sense. She explains precisely what our punctuation marks do and won't do. She also answers the very questions that readers are likely to have. Besides being extremely readable and relevant, each chapter offers a challenging quiz followed by answers that leave no doubt. This small, engaging book is for people who know what they want to write and who know English―all they need to hear is what Bell has to say about the gaffes that have crept into their sentences. Equally useful to a ninth-grader and a senior-level manager, Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences is a sweet and timely find.

Janis Bell, English professor and writing consultant in San Francisco, California, created this guide after teaching writing for more than three decades. She knows, by heart, the questions that students and businesspeople are inclined to ask. And she answers, from the heart, in ways that delight.