If you are expecting this to be another text book,
forget it! This is a creative work made of words, about words and our language.
It will grab your interest before you even get past the introduction and keep
it till the end of the book.
It is for those who need help with grammar and
writing and others who need to refresh what’s what, when, where, how and why.
Modern English has changed over time. It is now a
stirred pot of other languages that have migrated permanently to ours. Some words
have become obsolete while others have joined together to create new words and
meanings.
Claire Duffy, author of The Australian Schoolkids’ Guide to Debating and Public Speaking
has sorted The Australian Students’ Guide
to Writing and Grammar into five parts.
Although she claims the first three
are the ones that matter, I found the
whole book an extremely valuable and informative resource for writers as well
as students. It’s a journey through essential skills for writing well and using
grammar correctly.
Duffy has given writers and students a gift, for
this is a grammar book made to enjoy; a book you can dip into and return to
repeatedly. Colour and mood are ingredients she uses to project the correct use
of language. These are offered up in a coherent and clear design that is a joy
to work through.
With a cheerful, light-hearted and loving approach,
Duffy personifies the various parts of grammar. She transforms them into characters
with a significant role to play in the story she narrates about how to improve
language and students’ understanding of it.
Lists of examples on spelling, sentence structure,
planning, and drafting are included with the different types of writing
students will encounter during exams which are geared to improve exam marks.
I loved this book because it incorporates advice
and help for writers of any kind on genres, the importance of drafting and
editing, creative plots and their structures and lots of other useful hints. End-of-chapter
boxes are filled with additional information on word origins, warnings,
specific jargon, and lots of other tasty morsels to improve knowledge. A comprehensive and detailed handbook, The Australian Students’ Guide to Writing
and Grammar is an investment benefit for all writers.
Title:
The Australian Students’ Guide to Writing and Grammar
Author:
Claire Duffy
Publisher:
NewSouth Books, $27.99
Publication
Date: February 2019
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781742236001
For
ages: 12+
Type:
Non Fiction
