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It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences

It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences

  • Downloads：3035
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-08 11:57:02
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：June Casagrande
  • ISBN：158008740X
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Great writing isn’t born， it’s built—sentence by sentence。 But too many writers—and writing guides—overlook this most important unit。 The result？ Manuscripts that will never be published and writing careers that will never begin。

In this wickedly humorous manual， language columnist June Casagrande uses grammar and syntax to show exactly what makes some sentences great—and other sentences suck。

With chapters on “Conjunctions That Kill” and “Words Gone Wild，” this lighthearted guide is perfect for anyone who’s dead serious about writing， from aspiring novelists to nonfiction writers， conscientious students to cheeky literati。 So roll up your sleeves and prepare to craft one bold， effective sentence after another。 Your readers will thank you。

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Reviews

🇨🇱 Missy ，

This is not just a book about how to write good sentences。 This is a book full of tips from a copy editor on what she looks for in manuscripts。 She gives examples of good and bad sentence structure。 It would help to brush up on terminology， but not absolutely necessary。 Good sentences can be made without knowing exactly what a certain clause or phrase is called。 It's important to pay attention to the meaning of every sentence you write。 A few main points I'd like to remember about writing senten This is not just a book about how to write good sentences。 This is a book full of tips from a copy editor on what she looks for in manuscripts。 She gives examples of good and bad sentence structure。 It would help to brush up on terminology， but not absolutely necessary。 Good sentences can be made without knowing exactly what a certain clause or phrase is called。 It's important to pay attention to the meaning of every sentence you write。 A few main points I'd like to remember about writing sentences:1） Keep it simple and short2） Rewrite until the fluff is removed3） Watch for sentences that are repetitive， but in different words。4） Avoid parentheses and semicolons as much as possible。 That's usually a sign of a lazy writer trying to fit in an after thought or extra information。 Just rewrite the sentence or sentences。5） Try to keep your verb close to your noun and be sure your descriptives are describing your noun properly。 。。。more

Prashant Gupta ，

Loved the bookI found this book very useful。 Each chapter had very easy and impactful examples and i am sure this book would help me to improve writing and editing

Joseph Carrabis ，

This is a small， short book that will so heavily impact your writing。。。no， scratch that。It was the best of sentences， it was the worst of sentences。 is a small book that will impact your writing。 Yes， much better。 If you don't recognize the second sentence is better than the first - you may not understand why it is， but if you recognize it is - this book is a necessity。 If you do understand， you've probably read this book。 I didn't write "。。。don't recognize that the second sentence。。。" because It wa This is a small， short book that will so heavily impact your writing。。。no， scratch that。It was the best of sentences， it was the worst of sentences。 is a small book that will impact your writing。 Yes， much better。 If you don't recognize the second sentence is better than the first - you may not understand why it is， but if you recognize it is - this book is a necessity。 If you do understand， you've probably read this book。 I didn't write "。。。don't recognize that the second sentence。。。" because It was the best of sentences， it was the worst of sentences。 teaches lots about when to use that。 I didn't write "。。。probably already read。。。" because it also teaches lots about flabby speech and misuse of adverbs。 And how to subordinate for effect， such as "If you。。。" And lots more， all with examples。 Casagrande's mantra is "Write for the Reader。" Writers who say they write to please themselves first miss the point （almost wrote "are missing the point"）; they write for a one-reader audience （rewrote that clause three times）。 Write to be read。 Start with one reader， get more by developing your writing。 （a missing conjunction， fix it （she demonstrates how））。 I've written more on my blog。 。。。more

Claudia ，

This is a very insightful book。 Admitedly， I had never tried to edit my own writting。 And now I feel the presure of writting a well crafted review on here although I don't really care much about my Goodreads opinions。 Not the way I care about my fiction writing。On ocassion I find myself correcting some newpapers articles。 I shake my head in disapproval while someone around me says the obvious: that nowadays， with the urgency of online publications， journalists don't always have the time to read This is a very insightful book。 Admitedly， I had never tried to edit my own writting。 And now I feel the presure of writting a well crafted review on here although I don't really care much about my Goodreads opinions。 Not the way I care about my fiction writing。On ocassion I find myself correcting some newpapers articles。 I shake my head in disapproval while someone around me says the obvious: that nowadays， with the urgency of online publications， journalists don't always have the time to read through their own writing。 Shame。I agree with the author on the enphasis on short sentences and their superiority。 Of course， after a few short sentences， the reader -or Reader， as the author refers to her。 Always a her， never a him。 I wonder about that- can finally strech their muscles with a long， flowery one。 But it has to be gramatically correct。 Crucial。I appreciated the crash course on grammar。 English is not my first language。 However， Spanish constructs sentences with almost the same structure。 I too get frustrated when writers lose track of their actual subject and leave sentences unfinished whitout realising it。I disageed on the semicolon。 That whole chapter broke my heart。 Semicolons are not flexes， they are not a product of the writer showing off。 They are gramatical tools at our disposal。 They have a right time and place。 I don't deny that everyone can change a sentence to avoid a semicolon。 But lets not lie to ourselves; doing that to avoid a precise tool like the semicolon only proves that it has a concrete use and it is not just whim of the capricious word-wielders。A good book。 I am more concious of my own writing now that I was before。 Still didn't read my review over to perfect it。 It's only Goodreads after all。 。。。more

Scott ，

I was looking for the correct way to vary the style and length of my sentences。 I wanted to have more control over pacing。 This book helped me very much。 In fact， I intend on referencing my copy over and over in the near future。

NotAWiz4rd ，

Not pure gold， but very helpful nonetheless。

Shruti Sharma ，

Marvelous book。 I've read other books on writing， but this one stands apart。 The book goes deep into sentence structures。 June has addressed every small detail to make sentence writing delightful， both for readers and writers。 Marvelous book。 I've read other books on writing， but this one stands apart。 The book goes deep into sentence structures。 June has addressed every small detail to make sentence writing delightful， both for readers and writers。 。。。more

Viv ，

Short and insightful read！ The examples of good （and bad） sentences are both helpful and humorous。

K Tan ，

A great book helping us write more substantial content with clarity。 Loving it。

Walid ，

Nice

Katie ，

Best writing book ever。

Cortez_jk ，

I did not finish this book。 I returned it to the library。

Tony Walker ，

I thought this was a fantastic book。 It was full of sensible， yet witty advice。 A gold mine of writing advice that will have a place on my bookshelf for years to come。

Alisa Wilhelm ，

I read this book for my professional development action of the month。 Five stars because it was a good refresher and a fast read， and now I feel better prepared to do my job。It is full of entertaining examples of bad sentences and how to fix them。 I'm good at spotting grammatical errors—that's my job。 But I need practice fixing flabby and redundant sentences。 This book has practical tips for that and Casagrande walks you through the steps to fix those problems。 I'm definitely more aware of commo I read this book for my professional development action of the month。 Five stars because it was a good refresher and a fast read， and now I feel better prepared to do my job。It is full of entertaining examples of bad sentences and how to fix them。 I'm good at spotting grammatical errors—that's my job。 But I need practice fixing flabby and redundant sentences。 This book has practical tips for that and Casagrande walks you through the steps to fix those problems。 I'm definitely more aware of common pitfalls and keywords to watch out for。 I'd like to recommend this book to some of my clients ;） 。。。more

Renato Alves ，

This is the third book from June I've read and can say with certainty I can't get enough of her。 Again， she didn't disappoint。I really liked her focus on the reader （Thy Reader， Thy God）。 Also， her focus at grammar。 I think people don't understand the power that mastering grammar can have in their writing and speaking。In my country， Brazil， ESL students despise grammar。 They don't understand its importance and consider it only rules to be followed （like paying taxes）。 On the other end， they don' This is the third book from June I've read and can say with certainty I can't get enough of her。 Again， she didn't disappoint。I really liked her focus on the reader （Thy Reader， Thy God）。 Also， her focus at grammar。 I think people don't understand the power that mastering grammar can have in their writing and speaking。In my country， Brazil， ESL students despise grammar。 They don't understand its importance and consider it only rules to be followed （like paying taxes）。 On the other end， they don't speak or write correctly。June， in my opinion， put what she shared in the book into use and wrote to the Reader。 Not any reader， but the target audience of this book （writers trying to improve their craft）。 It is like she took all the rules and said: "here， use it like that and your reader might understand it better"。There were some concepts that were hard to understand， mainly because of her choice of words/terms， which made them foreign （for a foreigner like me =P）。 Why use copular verbs when linking verbs is easier to understand。But overall， a really good read！ =） 。。。more

Abbie ，

Recommended by a friend， read over many months。 An interesting， mostly helpful look at writing。。。 mostly from a grammatical angle。

Michael Prendergast ，

A really good grammar and sentence structure guide。 Very helpful for first time writers， copywriters and advertisers。

Ben Brommell ，

Some good tips that will help my writing in the future， even if my eyes did glaze over occasionally while reading。 Well-written （I should hope so！） though not as engaging or funny as I'd hoped it would be。 Some good tips that will help my writing in the future， even if my eyes did glaze over occasionally while reading。 Well-written （I should hope so！） though not as engaging or funny as I'd hoped it would be。 。。。more

Barbara Gorman ，

An enjoyable and useful read。 It's great to see a style book with a sense of humour。 Learning the mechanics of writing can be such a snore， but I found this book engaging and empathetic。 An enjoyable and useful read。 It's great to see a style book with a sense of humour。 Learning the mechanics of writing can be such a snore， but I found this book engaging and empathetic。 。。。more

Matt ，

Solid short book on tightening up your writing。 Not only is it good as a reference， but also as a short text book to read cover to cover。 It's written in a simple and accessible way， so even people like me who never paid attention during grammar classes can get a lot out of it。 Solid short book on tightening up your writing。 Not only is it good as a reference， but also as a short text book to read cover to cover。 It's written in a simple and accessible way， so even people like me who never paid attention during grammar classes can get a lot out of it。 。。。more

D。 Kane ，

This book is packed with information critical to serious writers。 I found the explanations were clear and presented in a manner that was easy to understand。 A photographer friend was asked to write professional articles for magazines， so I recommended this book。 It's well worth having on your bookshelf！ This book is packed with information critical to serious writers。 I found the explanations were clear and presented in a manner that was easy to understand。 A photographer friend was asked to write professional articles for magazines， so I recommended this book。 It's well worth having on your bookshelf！ 。。。more

JK ，

Helpful without getting too bogged down in technical details。 Gave me lots of things to think about and remember for my own writing （I'm already catching lots of problems， oof） Helpful without getting too bogged down in technical details。 Gave me lots of things to think about and remember for my own writing （I'm already catching lots of problems， oof） 。。。more

Jalal Daad ，

This is a grammar book without saying， this is a grammar book。

Filip ，

This review originally appeared over at my blog， The Grimoire Reliquary。It’s rare that you find a book on sentence construction that has so warm a tone。 June Casagrande’s It Was the Best of Sentences， It Was the Longest of Titles is an excellent guide on writing， chock-full of common and uncommon issues that plague the amateur and the intermediate writer alike。“A writer’s guide to crafting killer sentences，” the cover quips at you， and with good reason — why， only yesterday I wrote a sentence s This review originally appeared over at my blog， The Grimoire Reliquary。It’s rare that you find a book on sentence construction that has so warm a tone。 June Casagrande’s It Was the Best of Sentences， It Was the Longest of Titles is an excellent guide on writing， chock-full of common and uncommon issues that plague the amateur and the intermediate writer alike。“A writer’s guide to crafting killer sentences，” the cover quips at you， and with good reason — why， only yesterday I wrote a sentence so sharp， my fingers are still bleeding。 Casagrande offers so much in this tiny 220-page package; her half-amusing hatred of semi-colons alone makes the price of admission well worth it。What topics can you look forward to reading about？ Murderous conjuctions， unparalleled parallels， gerunds to dream nightmares of， and my favourite – short versus long sentences。 Plus， appendixes full of well-explained grammar， punctuation and more。 It ain’t Tolkien-level extensive but it’s English， not Elvish。A small complaint – as someone who has studied English for a long time now， plenty of the grammar explanations were at a very basic level。 If you’re a grammar noobie， though， this might offer some extra value！Jokes aside， I learned a lot from this one。 Some of the concepts introduced in the chapters， I knew at an intuitive level。 Others were familiar。 A few surprised me。 Either way， I’m glad to have a deeper understanding than I did before， thanks to Casagrande’s approachable book。 I’ll be coming back to it time and again。 In fact…I’m planning on writing a blog post for each chapter of the book over the coming weeks – I’ll need something to do come summer！ 。。。more

Amber Duffus ，

This is one of the more helpful grammar book I have read。 Casangrande enlightens the reader on how to write well while keeping the reader interested in the material。

Ebony ，

Every writer needs this in the resource arsenal。 Honestly， I find most books on grammar to be a bit of snore but this one kept me reading。 The author provides examples and demonstrates how the writer can make his/her writing more concise while adding a punch。 I'll admit that I'm guilty of committing some of these sins on my own writing。 When I'm revising a story， I've found the author's advice helpful。 Every writer needs this in the resource arsenal。 Honestly， I find most books on grammar to be a bit of snore but this one kept me reading。 The author provides examples and demonstrates how the writer can make his/her writing more concise while adding a punch。 I'll admit that I'm guilty of committing some of these sins on my own writing。 When I'm revising a story， I've found the author's advice helpful。 。。。more

Samuel Oktavianus ，

It Was The Best of Sentences is a grammar/writing book written by June Casagrande， an author who has previously written 5 or 6 grammar books， so I'm sure she knows a lot about this topic。The book is about how to craft good sentences。 The author takes examples from many literary works—fiction & non-fiction—as she analyzes & corrects them。 It provides essential grammar rules， common grammar mistakes， and tips on how to avoid grammatical errors。 It's also about how to simplify sentences and how to It Was The Best of Sentences is a grammar/writing book written by June Casagrande， an author who has previously written 5 or 6 grammar books， so I'm sure she knows a lot about this topic。The book is about how to craft good sentences。 The author takes examples from many literary works—fiction & non-fiction—as she analyzes & corrects them。 It provides essential grammar rules， common grammar mistakes， and tips on how to avoid grammatical errors。 It's also about how to simplify sentences and how to avoid redundancy。 The writing is simple， humorous， and easy to follow。 I enjoyed reading it， which is surprising since I usually don't enjoy reading grammar books。 If you're a writer， you can use this as a reference or a grammar refresh。 I liked the fact that the author instructs the reader not to follow every rule， but to use it as a supplement。 Even though this book is only 200+ pages long， it can be too overwhelming for some people since it covers broad grammar topics。 。。。more

Hamster ，

Imagine your English teacher got drunk and WOULDN’T STOP TALKING。 It was like she was trying to fit an entire semester of sentence structure into one torturous lesson。 All this accomplished was to make me hate people who care/know about all this crap。

T Ramon ，

Fantastic reference book for beginning writers。 It cuts to the chase， fun to read and a confident guide through common writing challenges。

Tulasi Acharya ，

Great！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0