The Little Red Writing Book: 20 Powerful Principles for Clear and Effective Writing (International Edition)

by Brandon Royal

Overview

This book is based on a simple but powerful observation: Students and young professionals who develop outstanding writing skills do so primarily by mastering a limited number of the most important writing principles, which they use over and over again. What are these recurring principles? The answer to this question is the basis of this material. A wealth of examples, charts, and engaging exercises makes The Little Red Writing Book an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to master those skills that will make a good writer even better.

Author's bio: Brandon Royal is an award-winning writer whose educational authorship includes The Little Gold Grammar Book, The Little Green Math Book, and The Little Blue Reasoning Book. During his tenure working in Hong Kong for US-based Kaplan Educational Centers - a Washington Post subsidiary and the largest test-preparation organization in the world - Brandon honed his theories of teaching and education and developed a set of key learning "principles" to help define the basics of writing, grammar, math, and reasoning. A Canadian by birth and graduate of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, his interest in writing began after completing writing courses at Harvard University. Since then he has authored a dozen books and reviews of his books have appeared in Time Asia magazine, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal of America, Midwest Book Review, The Asian Review of Books, Choice Reviews Online, Asia Times Online, and About.com. Brandon is a five-time winner of the International Book Awards, a seven-time gold medalist at the President's Book Awards, as well as recipient of the "Educational Book of the Year" award as presented by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. He has also been a winner or finalist at the Ben Franklin Book Awards, the Global eBook Awards, the Beverly Hills Book Awards, the IPPY Awards, the USA Book News "Best Book Awards," and the Foreword magazine Book of the Year Awards. He continues to write and publish in the belief that there will always be a place for books that inspire, enlighten, and enrich.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781897393208
Publisher:	Maven Publishing
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Pages:	140
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Brandon Royal is an award-winning writer whose educational authorship includes The Little Red Writing Book, The Little Red Writing Book Deluxe Edition, The Little Green Math Book, and The Little Blue Reasoning Book. During his tenure working in Hong Kong for US-based Kaplan Educational Centers – a Washington Post subsidiary and the largest test-preparation organization in the world – Brandon honed his theories of teaching and education and developed a set of key learning “principles” to help define the basics of writing, grammar, math, and reasoning. A Canadian by birth and graduate of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, his interest in writing began after completing writing courses at Harvard University. Since then he has authored a dozen books and reviews of his books have appeared in Time Asia magazine, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal of America, Midwest Book Review, The Asian Review of Books, Choice Reviews Online, Asia Times Online, and About.com. Brandon is a five-time winner of the International Book Awards, a five-time gold medalist at the President’s Book Awards, as well as a winner of the Global eBook Awards, the USA Book News “Best Book Awards,” and recipient of the 2011 “Educational Book of the Year” award as presented by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.

(2nd Edition)

Table of Contents

Topics covered in this book include: Dedication; Introduction; Part I – Structure (1. Write with a top-down approach, 2. Break things down, 3. Use transition words, 4. Review the six basic writing structures, 5. Keep like things together); Part II – Style (6. Support what you say, 7. Personalize your examples, 8. Keep it simple, 9. Cut down long sentences, 10. Eliminate needless words, 11. Gain active power, 12. Favor verbs, not nouns, 13. Use parallel forms 14. Capitalize on sentence variety, 15. Choose an appropriate tone, 16. Keep your writing gender neutral); Part III – Readability (17. Capitalize on layout and design, 18. Employ readability tools, 19. Use headings and headlines, 20. Go back and rework your writing); Appendix 1 – Summary of the 20 Writing Principles; Appendix 2 – Answers to Writing Exercises; Selected Bibliography; Index; About the Author

What People are Saying About This

Ray Turner

Writing guides and handbooks fall into roughly two categories: Some are long, comprehensive, and, except for the extremely punctilious writer, unfathomable; a few are direct, useful, and ideal for serious writers who would rather write than spend hours finding the rules for semicolons. In the latter category falls Brandon Royal's brilliant The Little Red Writing Book. The articulate exposition of his twenty principles of writing and thirty rules of grammar fit neatly into 159 short, accessible pages, pages undoubtedly well thumbed by thousands of grateful writers for years. Built carefully and simply around the categories of structure, style, readability and grammar, Mr. Royal's little book will satisfy both the sit-down-and-read-all-about-it reader and the frustrated-fly-by-and-check-something-quickly writer. I recommend this wonder to all my writing students. Perhaps one day writing committees will wisely follow suit and make this a primary text for all writing courses at their schools. (Ray Turner, B.A., MA (Communications),
writing instructor and former Educational Administrator,
Corpus Christi TX, USA)

Ann Schade

If there were ever a time when this reviewer recalled with gratitude the diligence and thoroughness of her writing teachers, it was while reviewing this book. The mechanics of expository writing, which many of us take for granted, are presented in an organized, attractive package that will serve the basic writing needs of students and professionals alike. Royal provides not only numerous examples of the principles of written English but exercises as well, with answers for those wishing to master the basics. He includes tips on gender-neutral composition and on structuring written documents. Borders and flourishes enliven the text and make the book as charming as its title. This handy reference, similar to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, could only have been improved by the inclusion of a glossary and a general index. Recommended for high school, college, and writing collections. (Ann Schade,
The Library Journal of America,
Publishers Weekly's On-Line Review)

Editorial Reviews

"The articulate exposition of Royal's twenty principles of writing fit neatly into 128 short, accessible (paperback) pages. I recommend this wonder to all my writing students. Perhaps one day writing committees will wisely follow suit and make this a primary text for all writing courses at their schools."--Ray Turner, B.A., MA (Communications), Writing Instructor and Former Educational Administrator, Corpus Christi TX, USA

From the Publisher