The Mechanics of Writing

Dona J. Young

An Open Letter to Professors from
Dona J. Young

The Mechanics of Writing was written for a specific purpose: to help writers at all levels—students and professionals alike—improve the quality of their writing.

The subtitle of this book, Which Comes First, the Comma or the Pause?, has a broader meaning than you might expect: the word pause not only refers to decisions about commas, pause also symbolizes an approach to making writing decisions. Rather than basing decisions on solid principles, writers instead base many of their decisions on guesses or whims. That is partly because looking up every question in a reference manual can be timeconsuming.

If the pause approach has not worked for you, try the systematic approach to building skills that this book presents. You will learn principles on which to base common writing decisions. Then you will practice those principles, applying what you are learning while the concepts are fresh.

Unlike most handbooks, this book is meant to be read from cover to cover. That is because it untangles grammar, building from one concept to another. Though it covers the basics, it covers them in a fast-paced and highly focused way. In fact, thousands of business professionals have used this approach to improve their writing, producing higher-quality writing in less time and with greater confidence.

As you work through each lesson of this book, you will steadily improve your proofreading and editing skills. Eventually, many writing decisions will become automatic: you will no longer rely on guessing but rather will rely on solid principles that lead you to achieve a higher standard. As your writing skills improve, so will your career opportunities.

Note: The student Web site for this book, www.commasrule.com, contains additional practice exercises.

“At last! A book on punctuation that is not a mere reference book: rather, this book invites readers on a personal journey… meant to be read cover-to-cover, this book effectively takes he mystery out of punctuation and provides practice on essential writing skills.”
--Elisabeth Anderson, Writing Instructor, College of DuPage

“A straight-forward handbook that has been infinitely more useful than any handbook or workbook I’ve used in college.”
--Dominie Schiralli, Fine Arts Major, Indiana University Northwest

“Students who used this method had a much easier time with composition. Because they understood grammar and mechanics, they could focus on building their writing skills. This is a great method producing fantastic results.”
--Peggy Patlan, Former Director of Education, Fox College

“The Mechanics of Writing is a manual of basic rules that actually builds writing skills, and my composition students who have used the unique method this book presents sing its praises!”
--Erika Mikkall, Writing Instructor, Indiana University Northwest

This handbook covers major principles that lead to correct writing.

Chapter

1. The Comma, the Pause, and the Plan
2. The Sentence
3. Conjunctions, Phrases, and Clauses
4. Comma Rules
5. Semicolon Rules
6. The Colon, the Dash, and the Ellipses
7. Capitalization and Number Usage
8. Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, and Hyphens
9. Similar Words and Spelling Tips
10. Editing Tips and Proofreading Practice
11. Quick Reference to Similar Words
12. Keys to Assessments and Worksheets
13. I ndex
14. About the Author

Publishing Notes:

None