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The Classic Guide to Better Writing New Edition by Flesch, Rudolf, Lass, A.H. published by HarperCollins
Every phase of writing is addressed in this authoritative, practical guide. Specific topics organizing information, discovering a personal voice, enhancing readability and checking grammar and spelling. Featuring hundreds of exercises and written in a relaxed, entertaining style, this is the perfect aid for the many Americans who wish to improve their communication skills in both their business and personal lives.
Unknown Binding
First published July 3, 1996
15 people are currently reading
236 people want to read
About the author
Rudolf Flesch
31 books31 followersFrom Wikipedia,
Rudolf Flesch (8 May 1911 – 5 October 1986) was an author, readability expert, and writing consultant who was an early and vigorous proponent of plain English in the United States. He created the Flesch Reading Ease test and was co-creator of the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test. He was raised in Austria and finished university there, studying law. He then moved to the United States and entered a graduate program at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D in English.
Flesch was born in Vienna, Austria. He fled to the United States to avoid the imminent invasion of the Nazis, to avoid Jewish prosecution. Once in America, he met Elizabeth Terpenning, whom he married. They had six children: Anne, Hugo, Jillian, Katrina, Abigal, and Janet. Flesch lived the majority of his life with his wife and children in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a small village in southern Westchester county.
[edit] Professional Information
Not long after finishing his degree, he wrote what became his most famous book, Why Johnny Can't Read, in 1955. The book was a focused critique of the then-trendy movement to teach reading by sight, often called the "look-say" method. The flaw of this approach, according to Flesch, was that it required learners to memorize words by sight. When confronted with an unknown word, the learner was stumped. Flesch advocated a return to phonics, the teaching of reading by teaching learners to sound out words.
Flesch flourished as a writing teacher, plain-English consultant, and author. He wrote many books on the subject of clear, effective communication: How to Test Readability (1951), How to Write Better (1951), The Art of Plain Talk (1946), The Art of Readable Writing (1949), The ABC of Style: A Guide to Plain English (1964), and Rudolf Flesch on Business Communications: How to Say What You Mean in Plain English (1972).
Flesch produced three other books of note:
In The Art of Clear Thinking (1951), Flesch consolidates research data and then-recent findings from the fields of psychology and education, and suggests how his readers can apply that information in their daily life. As he writes in his introduction, "It would be impudent to tell intelligent, grown up people how to think. All I have tried to do here is to assemble certain known facts about the human mind and put them in plain English."
In Lite English (1983), Flesch advocated the use of many colloquial and informal words. The subtitle of the book reveals his bias: Popular Words That Are OK to Use No Matter What William Safire, John Simon, Edwin Newman, and the Other Purists Say!
And in 1979, Flesch published a book he had produced while working as a communication and writing consultant to the Federal Communications Commission: How to Write Plain English: A Book for Lawyers and Consumers. This book was and is a "how to" for writing rules and regulations that must be read and understood by the general public.
Rudolf Flesch (8 May 1911 – 5 October 1986) was an author, readability expert, and writing consultant who was an early and vigorous proponent of plain English in the United States. He created the Flesch Reading Ease test and was co-creator of the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test. He was raised in Austria and finished university there, studying law. He then moved to the United States and entered a graduate program at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D in English.
Flesch was born in Vienna, Austria. He fled to the United States to avoid the imminent invasion of the Nazis, to avoid Jewish prosecution. Once in America, he met Elizabeth Terpenning, whom he married. They had six children: Anne, Hugo, Jillian, Katrina, Abigal, and Janet. Flesch lived the majority of his life with his wife and children in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a small village in southern Westchester county.
[edit] Professional Information
Not long after finishing his degree, he wrote what became his most famous book, Why Johnny Can't Read, in 1955. The book was a focused critique of the then-trendy movement to teach reading by sight, often called the "look-say" method. The flaw of this approach, according to Flesch, was that it required learners to memorize words by sight. When confronted with an unknown word, the learner was stumped. Flesch advocated a return to phonics, the teaching of reading by teaching learners to sound out words.
Flesch flourished as a writing teacher, plain-English consultant, and author. He wrote many books on the subject of clear, effective communication: How to Test Readability (1951), How to Write Better (1951), The Art of Plain Talk (1946), The Art of Readable Writing (1949), The ABC of Style: A Guide to Plain English (1964), and Rudolf Flesch on Business Communications: How to Say What You Mean in Plain English (1972).
Flesch produced three other books of note:
In The Art of Clear Thinking (1951), Flesch consolidates research data and then-recent findings from the fields of psychology and education, and suggests how his readers can apply that information in their daily life. As he writes in his introduction, "It would be impudent to tell intelligent, grown up people how to think. All I have tried to do here is to assemble certain known facts about the human mind and put them in plain English."
In Lite English (1983), Flesch advocated the use of many colloquial and informal words. The subtitle of the book reveals his bias: Popular Words That Are OK to Use No Matter What William Safire, John Simon, Edwin Newman, and the Other Purists Say!
And in 1979, Flesch published a book he had produced while working as a communication and writing consultant to the Federal Communications Commission: How to Write Plain English: A Book for Lawyers and Consumers. This book was and is a "how to" for writing rules and regulations that must be read and understood by the general public.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 2, 2018
It's been more than seventy years since the original edition of this book was published. Many of us from earlier generations picked up a lot of these ideas in high school or university -- if we were listening.
Judging from what I encounter in my work life, I'm certain that little of this material is covered in most schools in the United States anymore. It is still worth knowing and using. There is no reason to be a weak writer or speaker just because your schools let you down.
Judging from what I encounter in my work life, I'm certain that little of this material is covered in most schools in the United States anymore. It is still worth knowing and using. There is no reason to be a weak writer or speaker just because your schools let you down.
February 7, 2024
Good old Rudy Flesch… my hero. He should be yours too, if you want to think, write and speak better? Who doesn’t want that to be the case? Read it, with a happy heart. Flesch is going to make you work for it, so have a pencil with you as well.
September 5, 2015
There's two things you should know before reading this review:
1) I didn't finish this book. I didn't even get halfway. Very quickly I realized that in addition to being badly written, it wasn't meant for me in the first place.
2)This book wasn't meant for me. I want to write fiction. I've already had quite a lot of practice and read quite a few books about the subject. This is a book obviously meant to help college students write papers. So why do I even have this? Well, about three years ago I went and bought several books that were recurrent on lists like, "Books Every Writer Needs to Read." This book was one of them, and I just now got around to looking at it.
I can't criticize the book for not being what I expected, but it's worthy of criticism all on it's own. Maybe I'm just out of touch with the "average Joe" but I felt like I was being talked down to the entire time I was reading this.
How could you not feel like the book is mocking your intelligence with chapter sub-headings like How to Find a Book, Where do Ideas Come From?, and How to Read a Book. I feel as though you would have to be so stupid to let that stuff slide that this book's very commonplace advice wouldn't even help you, so why should anybody buy it?
And it gets worse. Almost every page is stuffed full of banal analogies that really don't serve to get the message across any better than plain language. Also they bloat the text quite a bit. Stuff like planning a weekend trip and hitching a train. Completely, utterly unnecessary; and BORING. Very, very boring. No thank you.
Another thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was the book's entire disregard for discovery writers. Yes, writing a college paper and writing a novel are two different things, but you know what? There are still people who discovery write great college papers and this book can go and shove it's OCD stricture. When I had a college paper I did not sit and plan everything out, make sure my ideas were in a list, and that the list was 'in order', before writing it, as this book says must be done, and I did fine. This book clings to order like it's going out of style--which it is.
1) I didn't finish this book. I didn't even get halfway. Very quickly I realized that in addition to being badly written, it wasn't meant for me in the first place.
2)This book wasn't meant for me. I want to write fiction. I've already had quite a lot of practice and read quite a few books about the subject. This is a book obviously meant to help college students write papers. So why do I even have this? Well, about three years ago I went and bought several books that were recurrent on lists like, "Books Every Writer Needs to Read." This book was one of them, and I just now got around to looking at it.
I can't criticize the book for not being what I expected, but it's worthy of criticism all on it's own. Maybe I'm just out of touch with the "average Joe" but I felt like I was being talked down to the entire time I was reading this.
How could you not feel like the book is mocking your intelligence with chapter sub-headings like How to Find a Book, Where do Ideas Come From?, and How to Read a Book. I feel as though you would have to be so stupid to let that stuff slide that this book's very commonplace advice wouldn't even help you, so why should anybody buy it?
And it gets worse. Almost every page is stuffed full of banal analogies that really don't serve to get the message across any better than plain language. Also they bloat the text quite a bit. Stuff like planning a weekend trip and hitching a train. Completely, utterly unnecessary; and BORING. Very, very boring. No thank you.
Another thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was the book's entire disregard for discovery writers. Yes, writing a college paper and writing a novel are two different things, but you know what? There are still people who discovery write great college papers and this book can go and shove it's OCD stricture. When I had a college paper I did not sit and plan everything out, make sure my ideas were in a list, and that the list was 'in order', before writing it, as this book says must be done, and I did fine. This book clings to order like it's going out of style--which it is.
December 18, 2012
Excellent book on developing one's writing skills. I can already write a clear, more organized essay after working through the exercises in the first couple chapters of this book. The chapters are logical, readable, and make sense. Highly recommended for most young writers.
August 13, 2014
Great for its exercises in each chapter. I will likely use this in schooling my kids when they're about 12.
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January 22, 2009808.04 Fle
January 23, 2018
This book is for the absolute beginner in writing. If you've already had instruction on the subject this book won't advance your skills. Very well laid out however and easy to read & follow. Exercises are great and assist in developing new skills.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews