Writely or Wrongly: An unstuffy guide to language stuff

by Joanne Anderson, Matt Golding (Illustrator)

An essential guide for anyone with cause to communicate in written form (most of us), a passing interest in doing it better (some of us), and a disinterest in a book on said subject that is humourlessly preoccupied with rules (almost all of us).
 
Author Joanne Anderson has expanded on the popular tips she shares weekly with writers at Nine mastheads so that readers everywhere can benefit from her entertaining and incisive observations.
 
Writely or Wrongly

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Writing

224 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I read Writely Or Wrongly cover-to-cover in one sitting, I don’t think that’s necessarily the best way to use this book. It’s one to flip through for an overview, then keep on hand to use as a reference text or a cheat sheet. It’s even got a great Index at the back for your convenience.

My full review of Writely Or Wrongly is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re interested in English grammar and its eccentricities, Joanne Anderson’s light-hearted style guide Writely or Wrongly, an unstuffy guide to language stuff is an amusing way to spend a couple of hours.
However, I’m not sure who the audience for this book is meant to be, and I don’t think the book description at Goodreads clarifies it.
I should preface what follows by acknowledging that I don’t read Nine mastheads and so I’ve never seen the ‘popular tips’ referred to.

Perhaps because I’ve been a teacher of English as a Second Language, I see the need for a reference book to help out with confusing aspects of our language, and I think it’s important that there be a specifically Australian version. I have a print edition of the Australian Style Manual, and it is excellent (and now free to access online), but its length and formality might be an intimidating barrier for some writers. (Fowler is excellent too, and possibly indispensable for writers or editors submitting to English publishers.) But there is definitely a place for something chattier and less formal, and Australian. (There is a whole chapter in Writely or Wrongly addressing Australian v American English.)

But while I found Writely or Wrongly entertaining and its advice is sound, its format might not suit anyone looking for a succinct guide. I’m thinking of international students at university, I’m thinking of people who had a disrupted education for various reasons, and I’m also thinking of the vast majority of people who through no fault of their own have never had a proper grammar lesson in their lives because their teachers were educated during the grammar-free 1970s. (I know this because I used to give grammar clinics to younger teachers learning Indonesian with me at Gadjah Mada university in Jogyakarta in the 1990s. Our Indonesian lecturers made no allowance for the fact that these teachers had never heard of ‘the passive voice‘ which is a critical aspect of formal Indonesian sentence structure — and bad manners if you don’t use it in some contexts.) I’m also thinking of adults for whom English is a second (third, fourth &c) language and they need to write for professional purposes. If they are the intended audience, the amusing digressions and historical contexts in Writely or Wrongly might not suit.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/09/07/w...

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really wasn't what I was expecting. I expected history and interesting anecdotes about the English language, conveyed with humour. Instead, it really was a guide to how to use English with an excessively large section on picking the right word between two similar sounding options, most of which I already have mastered. I think it was supposed to be funny, but I didn't find it so.

Lucky it was very short, because I found it one to be endured rather than enjoyed.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very funny reflection on the English language. The writer explores all the quirks and frustrations of our rules and conventions (and their lack of consistency. You need some knowledge of grammar to appreciate the humour - I enjoyed the book and had a few things clarified too.

[Susan Wishart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A present from my granddaughters. An interesting and entertaining read and one to keep on the shelves for reference when wading through grammar and punctuation problems.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another competent and amusing guide to the English language.
Has a comprehensive index that is useful.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Bryson does it better but I enjoyed the ride.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book about words and the English language.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and well written, however, I did find that it dragged on after a while.

[Other Terrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you mix up their and there? Or find yourself ready to apostrophe right out of the room over comma placement? Then you are in luck. Australian journalist Joanna Anderson’s nifty little book Writely or Wrongly – An Unstuffy Guide to Language Stuff will become your new writing best friend.

Writely or Wrongly packages and expands on Anderson’s popular English writing tips she has published at The Sydney Morning Herald and other publications in a quirky, helpful little book. I don’t think I have enjoyed an educational book as much as I have Writely or Wrongly. The bright orange cover and silly images of two 19th-century men with quote marks for a hat and moustache set the tone for this fun little book...
https://www.otherterrainjournal.com.a...