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Grammar Girl's Punctuation 911: Your Guide to Writing it Right
Previously published as part of Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing .
Online sensation Grammar Girl makes punctuation fun and easy in Grammar Girl's Punctuation 911.
Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad punctuation—but she's also determined to make the process as painless as possible. A couple of years ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make with grammar. The podcasts have now been downloaded more than twenty million times, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , and USA Today .
Now, Mignon tackles the most commonly asked questions regarding punctuation. From semi-colons to serial commas and ellipses to asterisks, Mignon offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome punctuation rules.
Online sensation Grammar Girl makes punctuation fun and easy in Grammar Girl's Punctuation 911.
Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad punctuation—but she's also determined to make the process as painless as possible. A couple of years ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make with grammar. The podcasts have now been downloaded more than twenty million times, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , and USA Today .
Now, Mignon tackles the most commonly asked questions regarding punctuation. From semi-colons to serial commas and ellipses to asterisks, Mignon offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome punctuation rules.
62 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 26, 2011
132 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
About the author
Mignon Fogarty
21 books1,325 followersMignon Fogarty is better known as Grammar Girl — five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards, an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, the founder of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network, and the former chair of media entrepreneurship in the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada. She is the author of seven books about language, including the New York Times bestseller, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. She has also appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 9, 2014
Grammar Girl’s Punctuation 911: Your Guide to Writing it Right (Quick & Dirty Tips) by Mignon Fogarty
Grammar Girl’s Punctuation 911 is a fun, quick way to brush up on punctuation. Mignot Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation. This useful 48-page eBook addresses the most commonly asked questions regarding punctuation.
Positives:
1. Succinct, useful guide on punctuation.
2. Grammar Girl has a masterful command of the topic.
3. Grammar that is actually fun and accessible. Conversational tone that engages the public on what is usually considered a boring topic.
4. Excellent presentation. Good use of visual material to complement accessible narrative.
5. Useful. An excellent brief reference that is handy to have.
6. Focuses on the most important aspects of punctuation. She doesn’t waste time by going over needless exceptions; she stays on topic.
7. Like a good educator she provides plenty of examples.
8. Interrobang, just because.
9. Excellent job of describing the difference between semicolons and colons; I can use semicolons with confidence now.
10. Addresses to satisfaction when and when not to use commas. “So, the bottom line is that whether to use the serial comma is a style issue.”
11. I actually learned how to use quotation marks. “In the United States, periods and commas go inside the quotation mark.” Just like that. In Britain, they go outside.
12. How many actually know what [sic] means? “Is Latin for ‘thus; so’ and indicates the error was made by the speaker or original writer and not by the current writer.” You’re welcome.
13. Provides link to her popular website.
14. A whole series of books like this one and even a popular podcast to boot.
Negatives:
1. Intended for laypersons. It’s brief and lacks depth.
2. No notes or formal bibliography.
In summary, this eBook is a short and accessible reference on punctuation. Grammar Girl is a joy to read which justifies her popularity. As an engineer, I can use all the help I can get and I’m thankful for such a resource. Look forward to referencing more of her books. I recommend it.
Further recommendations: “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (Quick & Dirty Tips) by the same author from which this material came from, “Word Up! How to Write Powerful Sentences and Paragraphs (And Everything You Build from Them)” by Marcia Riefer Johnston, “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Junior, “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser, “The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need” by Susan Thurman and Larry Shea, “Book Writing Mistakes” by Jim Edwards, “How to Write Great Blog Posts that Engage Readers” by Steve Scott, “English Grammar for Dummies” by Geraldine Woods, and “The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation” by Jane Straus. For more experienced writers, “The Sense of Style” by Steven Pinker.
Grammar Girl’s Punctuation 911 is a fun, quick way to brush up on punctuation. Mignot Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation. This useful 48-page eBook addresses the most commonly asked questions regarding punctuation.
Positives:
1. Succinct, useful guide on punctuation.
2. Grammar Girl has a masterful command of the topic.
3. Grammar that is actually fun and accessible. Conversational tone that engages the public on what is usually considered a boring topic.
4. Excellent presentation. Good use of visual material to complement accessible narrative.
5. Useful. An excellent brief reference that is handy to have.
6. Focuses on the most important aspects of punctuation. She doesn’t waste time by going over needless exceptions; she stays on topic.
7. Like a good educator she provides plenty of examples.
8. Interrobang, just because.
9. Excellent job of describing the difference between semicolons and colons; I can use semicolons with confidence now.
10. Addresses to satisfaction when and when not to use commas. “So, the bottom line is that whether to use the serial comma is a style issue.”
11. I actually learned how to use quotation marks. “In the United States, periods and commas go inside the quotation mark.” Just like that. In Britain, they go outside.
12. How many actually know what [sic] means? “Is Latin for ‘thus; so’ and indicates the error was made by the speaker or original writer and not by the current writer.” You’re welcome.
13. Provides link to her popular website.
14. A whole series of books like this one and even a popular podcast to boot.
Negatives:
1. Intended for laypersons. It’s brief and lacks depth.
2. No notes or formal bibliography.
In summary, this eBook is a short and accessible reference on punctuation. Grammar Girl is a joy to read which justifies her popularity. As an engineer, I can use all the help I can get and I’m thankful for such a resource. Look forward to referencing more of her books. I recommend it.
Further recommendations: “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (Quick & Dirty Tips) by the same author from which this material came from, “Word Up! How to Write Powerful Sentences and Paragraphs (And Everything You Build from Them)” by Marcia Riefer Johnston, “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Junior, “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser, “The Only Grammar Book You’ll Ever Need” by Susan Thurman and Larry Shea, “Book Writing Mistakes” by Jim Edwards, “How to Write Great Blog Posts that Engage Readers” by Steve Scott, “English Grammar for Dummies” by Geraldine Woods, and “The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation” by Jane Straus. For more experienced writers, “The Sense of Style” by Steven Pinker.
July 10, 2015
Fogarty's funny, conversational tone takes the dry subject matter of punctuation and makes it accessible and memorable. Even those with very good writing skills will pick up some tips to help make their written work clean and polished. Highly recommended.
March 23, 2014
A good read for someone who needs a guide for punctuation in an easy to remember style. It was especially helpful for me as an editor.
April 23, 2015
More good in here than questionable. Helpful and practical for grammar users.
December 14, 2015
Simple to use
Great punctuation guide for the novice. Clears up confusion in a fun format with pictures. Grammar Girl knows her stuff.
Great punctuation guide for the novice. Clears up confusion in a fun format with pictures. Grammar Girl knows her stuff.
August 5, 2019
Most of the material in this book is covered in her first "Quick and Dirty" book.
August 5, 2013
This is a really quick refresher guide that is very short, sweet and to the point. It seemed to be pretty thorough in covering most of the major grammar issues. The bits of humor added to the material, otherwise it could have gotten a bit tiresome. Would recommend this book for anyone that is seeking to have a quick brush up.
September 8, 2013
I love the way Mignon Fogarty writes. The book is a great quick guide for author's like myself trying to polish their punctuation. I absolutely love the way she writes. I said that twice. I just really mean it. Grammar is normally boring, or at least presented in a boring way. With Mignon Fogarty grammar is fun. Mignon Fogarty‽ <--- There you get an INTERROBANG :)
May 7, 2016
This is a fun book full of good and easy tips, which have been made entertaining by the author. Since I've already read almost everything in the book on the author's (AKA Grammar Girl's) website, I was able to skim through it in no time. Grammar girl has always been my go-to webpage for any issue I might stumble upon. And it's always fun to read her explanations...:-)
July 14, 2012
This book contains clear and definitive rules on punctuation. My favorite bit is the section about the interrobang. What? A punctuation mark we never learned about in school!? That's right... it's worth the read.
September 12, 2011
Pretty basic, but a good reference guide for punctuation.
September 2, 2011
This short manual is an excerpt of a previously published Grammar Girl book, but focuses on punctuation only. It is a great tool to have on my NOOKcolor for quick reference.
October 26, 2012
Great for quick reference!
April 21, 2014
My first of the Grammar Girl books and I loved reading it despite not being a pedant about language, except for the apostrophe, of course!
September 17, 2013
Very helpful. Highlighted A LOT.
January 26, 2014
It was easy to read and understand.
August 12, 2014
Helpful
Mignon makes reading about grammar rules enjoyable, never thought that was possible. I recommend this to anyone who writes fiction or nonfiction books or articles.
Mignon makes reading about grammar rules enjoyable, never thought that was possible. I recommend this to anyone who writes fiction or nonfiction books or articles.
August 8, 2015
Not the most exciting book but useful
November 1, 2016
Good, short and well organized.
Most I already knew but I did learn some stuff.
Bought it for 1$ on Amazon.ca.
Most I already knew but I did learn some stuff.
Bought it for 1$ on Amazon.ca.
August 3, 2017
As always, Grammar Girl delivers another great little book to make our use of language better. You simply can't go wrong with any of her books. You'll learn and it will be fun.
October 18, 2017
Most books on grammar I find are long, boring & hard to understand. I found this book both concise and simple in its explanations. Plus cheap on iTunes.
May 23, 2018
A useful handbook.
This was a worthwhile read. It gives several examples in each section. The author also points out the difference between UK and U.S.A. English where applicable. She explained the differences between hyphens and various dashes well, and how writers can insert the correct ones because there is no actual keyboard key for the em dash; it needs to be downloaded as a symbol. Alternatively, a double -- can be entered. For a short book, all the essential ingredients for good punctuation were explained.
This was a worthwhile read. It gives several examples in each section. The author also points out the difference between UK and U.S.A. English where applicable. She explained the differences between hyphens and various dashes well, and how writers can insert the correct ones because there is no actual keyboard key for the em dash; it needs to be downloaded as a symbol. Alternatively, a double -- can be entered. For a short book, all the essential ingredients for good punctuation were explained.
August 8, 2019
A Quick & Easy Read
I liked this book because it had lots of good examples. It was written in an easy to understand format, and it wasn't super long. Now, I am sweating it because I hope I am not making any errors, in my review.
I liked this book because it had lots of good examples. It was written in an easy to understand format, and it wasn't super long. Now, I am sweating it because I hope I am not making any errors, in my review.
March 11, 2018
Grammar Girl rules!
May 10, 2018
Excellent book with very easy to understand explanation on punctuation.
December 31, 2018
Increased my job performance rating by reducing grammar and spelling errors significantly.
July 29, 2020
An enthusiastic punctuation manual.
June 11, 2021
Easy to understand
I loved this book. My punctuations are going to be better now. It was a easy book to read, and understand.
I loved this book. My punctuations are going to be better now. It was a easy book to read, and understand.
October 14, 2021
A great help in improving punctuation.
January 9, 2013
entertaining and very informative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews