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Quick and Dirty Tips
The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl
Millions of fans around the globe punctuate properly and communicate clearly thanks to Mignon Fogarty's practical and easy-to-remember advice about writing style and word usage. Her first book, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and her weekly grammar podcast has been downloaded more than 20 million times and hailed by USA Today as "authoritative but warm." Now, in tip-of-the-day form, Grammar Girl serves up 365 lessons on language that are sure to inspire. Filled with new, bite-size writing tips, fun quizzes and puzzles, and efficient memory tricks, The Grammar Devotional gives you a daily dose of knowledge to improve your writing and also serves as a lasting reference you'll use for years to come.
240 pages, ebook
First published October 13, 2009
119 people are currently reading
991 people want to read
About the author
Mignon Fogarty
21 books1,324 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 46 reviews
August 19, 2011
I've been following Fogarty for a while on her podcast, and this isn't the only book of hers that I've read. She's tremendously approachable and does a fantastic job of breaking down what could be a very dry subject and turning it into something I wanted to read.
My only complaint about the book, and this is why it didn't get a five-star rating, was the weekly word puzzles. I can find those in my daily newspaper. I wanted more grammar. All that said, this is a great daily refresher/instructor in common grammar issues, and I'm a better writer for having read it. I recommend this devotional to everyone.
My only complaint about the book, and this is why it didn't get a five-star rating, was the weekly word puzzles. I can find those in my daily newspaper. I wanted more grammar. All that said, this is a great daily refresher/instructor in common grammar issues, and I'm a better writer for having read it. I recommend this devotional to everyone.
December 24, 2011
I got this for Christmas last year, and it's been a welcome daily ritual for me. Although there were days I already knew the tips given, there were plenty of days Grammar Girl had something new to teach me or a new way of remembering something I theoretically already knew. And, as with her podcast, the book is written in a light, engaging fashion that never talks down to the reader. Highly recommended for all who write, either professionally or just in their daily lives.
February 28, 2021
Very useful and eye opening. I like getting a daily dose of grammar.
May 7, 2020
The Grammar Girl channel on the Quick and Dirty Tips has always been a great resource to me when I've been stumped by a grammar query. Zack and I went through this book together daily as part of our nighttime routine. Some good refreshers, a few things that were totally new to both of us, and Zack's least favorite variety of tip: Language Rock Star, wherein Fogarty shares a brief history of a famed lexicologist.
August 31, 2023
The Grammar Daily is a neat grammar book because it offers quick & easy tips in an extremely digestible format. It has a tip for everyday of the year & allows for the reader to start on any day, which allows for greater flexibility than most day-to-day calendars. I learned something by reading the very first tip of the day. I also appreciated the fact it was interactive with actual questions that had the answers at the end of the book. There’s also examples with the tip, which emphasize the learning aspect. I also thought it was cool that there were word scrambles, word searches, some adorable drawings 8 more. This is the perfect gift for anyone that loves writing, grammar &/or just learning in general.
Massive thanks to NerGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed/
Massive thanks to NerGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed/
June 10, 2024
“The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl” by Mignon Fogarty is exactly what the title implies. It is a book that’s divided into fifty-two weeks. Each week has seven tips shared based on the day of the week. Some days are interactive and require questions to be answered, words unscrambled, or words located in a word search.
The “quick and dirty tips” are helpful. One of my favourites is a tip to help remember when to use the word “then” versus “than.” The book is written in a way that makes understanding the rules of grammar easy and fun. It’s a helpful tool for writers, editors, teachers, and students.
The “quick and dirty tips” are helpful. One of my favourites is a tip to help remember when to use the word “then” versus “than.” The book is written in a way that makes understanding the rules of grammar easy and fun. It’s a helpful tool for writers, editors, teachers, and students.
July 8, 2019
Grammar Girl makes the nuances of the English language accessible, fun, and occasionally laugh-out-loud hilarious with puzzles, drawings, and Star Trek references. As a part-time editor, this book was a great refresher on things I knew and defined things I didn't know that I knew. Great resource for teachers, writers, and editors. Highly recommend!
July 7, 2022
A gift from a student, this book is a helpful guide to expert or novice grammarians. It is set up like a devotional with short readings, examples, and grammar puzzles to last a year. There’s some nice humor threaded throughout. I liked how the author included some rules that weren’t cut-and-dried, and I also liked the mix of grammar addressed.
July 31, 2024
The author explain the subjects in a fun and helpful way. I don’t think, however, that this book is intended for someone who wants to learn #grammar, but for those who already know it and just want to improve their skills.
January 1, 2018
I know this book was written as daily tip/daily devotion/chapter a day sort of read, but I read it all in about a day and a half. I love to learn and wish I had the actual hard copy to scan through when I need grammar help and reminders. I forget everything and often need help with my writing. This book will help me for many years to come, I'm sure!
October 21, 2017
Very helpful!
February 5, 2018
Definitely best to work through in chunks, I did a week at a time. Full of good reminders, clarifications, and some interesting fun facts.
November 12, 2018
This book gave me knowledge about Grammar and I read it everyday when finished.
May 30, 2019
Nice little book to have to know more about some grammar tips. It was an enjoyable read!
August 15, 2019
Fogarty makes grammar about as fun and entertaining as it can be. Not exactly a page-turner (as my read dates can attest), but my copy has copius highlights. A must read for all Grammar Nazis.
March 21, 2015
I am currently on a quest to read every grammar, usage, and copyediting book in the office, because reasons. I started simple, with a volume from the “Quick and Dirty Tips” line, The Grammar Devotional Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl, by Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl. This book is set up so you read one grammar or usage tip per day, thereby taking a year to read a book that’s less than 250 pages long. Not happening. I am in fact rather embarrassed that it took me about six weeks to get through this, because I was keeping it on my desk and trying to read a couple of tips every day, and then had to work from home for half of February.
In addition to the actual author photo of Fogarty in the back of the book, the front of the book features a cute cartoony avatar of the “Grammar Girl” persona, a bookish-looking brunette white girl with glasses. I assume this is meant to make the book look relatable to the 80 percent or so of the editorial field that is brunette white girls with glasses. Like, I’m assuming it’s supposed to be a cartoon of Fogarty, but it could be a cartoon of me, or Colleen, or Linsey, or Lisa, to name four of the five editors in our pod.
Anyway. The book itself is really good, breaking down a miscellany of grammar and usage issues into small, clearly-explained bits, making it both a good grammar guide and an excellent illustration of what’s meant by the detestable term “snackable content.” The reader’s main companions in illustrating the various issue at hand are Aardvark, who I assume is an aardvark; Squiggly, who seems to be a snail; Grammar Girl herself; and the nefarious peeves, who look kind of like a cross between small turtles and fat stripey gummy bears. The examples also draw heavily from pop culture and more-or-less-current events. It’s not quite The Transitive Vampire, but the example sentences are still a lot more fun and memorable than most school grammar textbooks (not that that’s a very high bar).
Not every day’s entry is a straight-up language lesson, though—about one day a week features a word game, like a word search or a jumble, and many of the Wednesdays are devoted to short profiles of “Language Rock Stars,” important or influential people in the history of English grammar study, development, and documentation. Some of these rock stars go way back (Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster) and others are linguists, writers, and editors who are currently active. (Some of them are also people whom I personally consider confused hacks, like William “I Once Reprimanded a Newspaper for Using Newspaper Style” Strunk, but I can’t pretend that they weren’t influential. Unfortunately.)
Overall, this book is well-researched, useful, easy to understand, and a good balance of actual usable advice (most of it) and things that are just fun to know (just enough). And the index means it actually is usable as a reference book, even though the body of it is structured to be pleasing to read through rather than to find a specific topic. Huzzah indexes! (Sadly not “indices.”)
Originally posted at http://bloodygranuaile.livejournal.co....
In addition to the actual author photo of Fogarty in the back of the book, the front of the book features a cute cartoony avatar of the “Grammar Girl” persona, a bookish-looking brunette white girl with glasses. I assume this is meant to make the book look relatable to the 80 percent or so of the editorial field that is brunette white girls with glasses. Like, I’m assuming it’s supposed to be a cartoon of Fogarty, but it could be a cartoon of me, or Colleen, or Linsey, or Lisa, to name four of the five editors in our pod.
Anyway. The book itself is really good, breaking down a miscellany of grammar and usage issues into small, clearly-explained bits, making it both a good grammar guide and an excellent illustration of what’s meant by the detestable term “snackable content.” The reader’s main companions in illustrating the various issue at hand are Aardvark, who I assume is an aardvark; Squiggly, who seems to be a snail; Grammar Girl herself; and the nefarious peeves, who look kind of like a cross between small turtles and fat stripey gummy bears. The examples also draw heavily from pop culture and more-or-less-current events. It’s not quite The Transitive Vampire, but the example sentences are still a lot more fun and memorable than most school grammar textbooks (not that that’s a very high bar).
Not every day’s entry is a straight-up language lesson, though—about one day a week features a word game, like a word search or a jumble, and many of the Wednesdays are devoted to short profiles of “Language Rock Stars,” important or influential people in the history of English grammar study, development, and documentation. Some of these rock stars go way back (Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster) and others are linguists, writers, and editors who are currently active. (Some of them are also people whom I personally consider confused hacks, like William “I Once Reprimanded a Newspaper for Using Newspaper Style” Strunk, but I can’t pretend that they weren’t influential. Unfortunately.)
Overall, this book is well-researched, useful, easy to understand, and a good balance of actual usable advice (most of it) and things that are just fun to know (just enough). And the index means it actually is usable as a reference book, even though the body of it is structured to be pleasing to read through rather than to find a specific topic. Huzzah indexes! (Sadly not “indices.”)
Originally posted at http://bloodygranuaile.livejournal.co....
December 2, 2009
A must-have for grammar lovers!
The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl (TM) by Mignon Fogarty, the Grammar Girl herself, is a must-have for anyone who loves grammar, diction, and the simple, proper use of words. Organized like a religious devotional, the book provides readers with a grammar or writing rule, factoid, or puzzle (word scramble, crossword, etc.) for each day of the year. The tips are quick, humorous, and informative. Because the book is organized in numbered weeks (e.g., Week 1, Sunday), you can start reading it anytime without having to wait for a particular month or the first of the year.
This devotional is best suited for those who already love grammar and who crave a daily dose of Grammar Girl's wit and wisdom. I wouldn't recommend it to those looking for a style manual or a book on writing technique, because it's not organized in that way. If you're looking for that, I would recommend Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.
This little book is so much fun that my spouse and I look forward to reading the tip to each other every day, and I plan to gift a copy to my English professor parents for Christmas!
The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl (TM) by Mignon Fogarty, the Grammar Girl herself, is a must-have for anyone who loves grammar, diction, and the simple, proper use of words. Organized like a religious devotional, the book provides readers with a grammar or writing rule, factoid, or puzzle (word scramble, crossword, etc.) for each day of the year. The tips are quick, humorous, and informative. Because the book is organized in numbered weeks (e.g., Week 1, Sunday), you can start reading it anytime without having to wait for a particular month or the first of the year.
This devotional is best suited for those who already love grammar and who crave a daily dose of Grammar Girl's wit and wisdom. I wouldn't recommend it to those looking for a style manual or a book on writing technique, because it's not organized in that way. If you're looking for that, I would recommend Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.
This little book is so much fun that my spouse and I look forward to reading the tip to each other every day, and I plan to gift a copy to my English professor parents for Christmas!
January 10, 2012
I think as a friendly daily reminder of grammar and its rules the Devotional works well.
Some of its weak points include the brevity of the daily reminders itself. If you're needing more guidance and explanation, than it is probably best to start with one of Mignon Fogarty other books or any other grammar book for that matter.
The idea behind this book is that you're already familiar with grammar rules and just need a refresher course. Sometimes to break the monotony, they'll be a cute puzzle or word scramble, but all in all it's a fun cute book to have at your disposal.
The best part is if you're in need of a cute warm up, you can introduce the idea of devotionals to your class and present some of Fogarty's daily grammar devotionals in a fun relaxed way. I wouldn't do it everyday as it might be overkill to some students, but it's a nice change of pace for to my English classes.
Some of its weak points include the brevity of the daily reminders itself. If you're needing more guidance and explanation, than it is probably best to start with one of Mignon Fogarty other books or any other grammar book for that matter.
The idea behind this book is that you're already familiar with grammar rules and just need a refresher course. Sometimes to break the monotony, they'll be a cute puzzle or word scramble, but all in all it's a fun cute book to have at your disposal.
The best part is if you're in need of a cute warm up, you can introduce the idea of devotionals to your class and present some of Fogarty's daily grammar devotionals in a fun relaxed way. I wouldn't do it everyday as it might be overkill to some students, but it's a nice change of pace for to my English classes.
January 3, 2012
While on the whole I prefer her Quick and Dirty Tips book (which works much better as a reference than this book), I find that the approach this book takes works well to teach you bits of grammar. The problem is that the bits come in no real order which could be frustrating.
I find this book works best if you approach it in the way it was intended, one tip at a time, once per day. Trying to read this book straight through will likely make one annoyed since the tips have no real structure. For a more traditional book structure (covering much the same material) see her other book.
If you're willing to read it at least somewhat like she intended (i.e., only a few tips a day) you'll likely learn something you didn't know.
I find this book works best if you approach it in the way it was intended, one tip at a time, once per day. Trying to read this book straight through will likely make one annoyed since the tips have no real structure. For a more traditional book structure (covering much the same material) see her other book.
If you're willing to read it at least somewhat like she intended (i.e., only a few tips a day) you'll likely learn something you didn't know.
March 22, 2012
This is an excellent reference book for all my grammar needs. I read it as a book and not a devotional, so I'm suffering from grammar overload right now, but I think it will be a great thing to reference when I need it. I'm not a huge fan of the Kindle edition, and I just might pick up a physical copy one of these days. I was also a little disheartened to learn that I had been using so much incorrect grammar, but many of my mistakes stem from the fact that I am using British spellings instead of American spellings and I think that is because my French grammar rules are getting mixed up with my American grammar rules. So much to remember. Grammar Girl ended the book with a great tip to remember: In short, write first and revise later.
February 26, 2010
Have I mentioned how www.dailylit.com has changed/improved the way I read books? I like reading several books at once, but sometimes I have trouble carting one around for the train ride.
While there is no replacement for the good feeling of a book in hand (ah, the smell, the paper, you know what I mean), dailylit.com offers free books online delivered daily in sequential excerpts. This means that I can read more books I want to read in a way that is convenient for me.
I found The Grammar Devotional on dailylit.com, and I definitely appreciated spending a few minutes each day thinking about grammar and syntax.
While there is no replacement for the good feeling of a book in hand (ah, the smell, the paper, you know what I mean), dailylit.com offers free books online delivered daily in sequential excerpts. This means that I can read more books I want to read in a way that is convenient for me.
I found The Grammar Devotional on dailylit.com, and I definitely appreciated spending a few minutes each day thinking about grammar and syntax.
December 7, 2009
For those who love the written word, this tip-a-day "devotional" provides 365 quick and witty rules of grammar. Mignon Fogarty offers clever methods to remember rules of English so that even the most grammatically challenged can write better. I found it so enjoyable that I read the entire book in one sitting! Even though I work with words daily as a freelance editor and writer, I definitely learned new facts and clarified some that had become fuzzy. The rules are presented in random order, but the index allows it to be used as a reference.
March 15, 2010
The Grammar Devotional = / -
Although sometimes helpful, this is my least favorite book I’ve read about grammar so far. The advice was often unclear, and even incomplete. I felt she was able to trick herself into writing the book like this under the name of a “Devotional.” This made it easier to be unclear and move on to something else. And if I had read the book like a devotional maybe I wouldn’t be as apt to notice this point. It did have some good advice and some interesting memory tricks, and even some fascinating language history.
Although sometimes helpful, this is my least favorite book I’ve read about grammar so far. The advice was often unclear, and even incomplete. I felt she was able to trick herself into writing the book like this under the name of a “Devotional.” This made it easier to be unclear and move on to something else. And if I had read the book like a devotional maybe I wouldn’t be as apt to notice this point. It did have some good advice and some interesting memory tricks, and even some fascinating language history.
December 22, 2015
Another great grammar and usage guide. In addition to the tips and memory tricks, I loved how she mixed in word searches, scrambles, and write-ups on people who influenced modern language. Although there were some days where her tip didn't click. The idea was a little too complex for just a paragraph. On those days I would have liked a resource for further reading, or perhaps she could have broken it up in to two or three days and explored the idea in more depth.
February 9, 2010
Well, I guess I'm really still reading this book, but I've been through big chunks of it already. The daily tips are great. I'm using it in the classroom to offer the students a tip a day before they leave. I enjoy it and think Grammar Girl makes it fun and easy to understand the rules. I hope the students are picking up some of it!!
February 18, 2011
I really love this book and plan to keep it at arm's reach because I need it! The worst part about graduating from high school was that I no longer had my trusty English teacher at hand to answer questions about grammar and spelling. Now, I just need to flip some pages to get an answer or confirmation. *happy sigh*
February 25, 2011
Okay, I admit it. I didn't do this once per day. Much like those comic-based desk calendars I can't seem to read just one at a time. I read through the entire thing, of course probably retaining less than if I'd just read it day to day. Regardless, this is a valuable little book. And anyone who writes/emails/texts should have it.
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January 16, 2013Benjamin Franklin rocks. He created a phonetic alphabet that dropped redundant letters: c,j,q,w,x,y and replaced them with six new letters representing sounds not covered by the current alphabet.
I must find his alphabet and discover these new sounds.
I must find his alphabet and discover these new sounds.
July 25, 2016
I love Grammar Girl and I think her advice is great. 3 stars just because I would have preferred organization by subject rather than this "tip a day" style. Just for that reason it's a little too inconvenient to be a go-to book for me.
March 16, 2016
What a fun little book. Full of pertinent information, easy to digest, and peppered with word find and scrambles to break it up. Great resource to settle bets at the office. And it's not all basic stuff, but interesting history tidbits and lesser known grammar info, like synecdoche.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews