Rewrite Right!: Your Guide to Perfectly Polished Prose

by Jan Venolia, Ellen Sasaki

Everyone knows that writing can be improved by the simple process of reviewing, editing, and rewriting, but many struggle with how to go about critiquing their own work—be it a letter to a friend, an important business document, or an academic essay. Fortunately, help is at hand in REWRITE RIGHT!, the definitive guide to polishing your prose. According to writing authority Jan Venolia, the skills needed to revise your work are surprisingly easy to learn and a cinch to incorporate into everyday writing routines. This practical guide describes in clear, direct language how to effectively rewrite a report, letter, essay, or article, so that writers of all levels can improve the quality of their work and harness the power of language.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Language

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Angela Blount · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is certainly a valuable resource in the writer's tool box. I found the chapter on Second Level Edited particularly dense with helpful rules I either didn't know or had forgotten. I'd recommend a newer edition to this 1987 version, however. Though, the final chapter on 'Computer-Age writing' was good for a giggle every time it mentioned a diskette. If you can get past the amusement of having the advantages of a word processor over the conventional typewriter explained to you, there are a still a few valuable tips to be gleaned. ^_^

[Carlisa Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content editing side of this book was focused more on nonfiction prose, such as essays or proposals. So while not what I was expecting, it has helpful info if you’re working with that kind of writing. The second half of the book is all about grammar, and their explanations are very thorough and clear. Good for those not too familiar with copyediting and grammar :)

[Powersamurai · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too basic for my needs, but would be good for someone starting out as a writer/editor.

[Alice Fleury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grammar, punctuation

This book is like Strunk and White. I thought it was going to be about sentences and their structure. Lessons/info is well laid out.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty short book so it's not a bunch of useless information with some useful tips sprinkled in there. I have two main problems with this book though. Number One: I already learned a lot of this stuff from College Writing/Advanced College Writing (that's not the author's fault; I just wished I could've learned more.) Number Two: This book is so old that it talks about word processor computers. Yes, I realize that Microsoft Word is a word processor program, but it wasn't relevant to word processors of today.
Overall, it's a useful book; especially to those in high school or just wanting to brush up on their editing skills.

[Colin Marks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this book on and off for over a decade. I bought it as a single man, living in Boston, Mass., and finished it with my second child soon to be born, back in Bristol, UK. It's a great little book for dipping into: pick it up for a couple of minutes and you'll learn something new. Ideal for writers, or for those curious about grammar.

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is more of manual for business professionals, not writers. And among those business professionals, those who have never had the grammar classes that teach you most of this stuff.

[Alia Makki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but too dry.