That or Which, and Why is an insightful and witty guide to writing based on Evan Jenkins's long-running column 'Language Corner', compiled of brief, alphabetically arranged entries on approximately 200 major writing stumbling blocks.
That or Which, and Why is an insightful and witty guide to writing. Based on Evan Jenkins's long-running column 'Language Corner' in Columbia Journalism Review, the book is compiled of brief, alphabetically arranged entries on approximately 200 major writing stumbling blocks, from the wonderful world of 'that' and 'which' to trickier terrain like the correct usage of common idiomatic expressions.
Working from his experiences as a newsroom editor and teacher, Jenkins' humorous tone puts the reader at ease, unlike many of the writing and usage guides out there that are off-putting in their rigidity and dogmatism. He takes the 'we're-all-in-this-together' approach to teaching better writing - maintaining a light tone throughout the book and emphasizing flexibility and easy-to-use guidelines rather than delivering orders from Grammar-on-high.
A vs. An; A Historic, etc. ,,Adverb Placement, Adverse/Averse ,
Adviser/Advisor; Historic/Historical , Affect/Effect, Allude/Refer, Along
With, Alternate/Alternative, Antecedents, As Such (Transition),
Assure/Ensure/Insure, As, Then As, As vs. So, As Well As, Too (Starting
Sentence), AttorneyS General, etc. , The Authorities, Award/Reward, Awhile/A
While, Bacterium/Bacteria, (Feel) Bad/Badly, Baited/Bated (Breath), Because
and Since, Beg the Question, Beside/BesideS, Between/Among,
Between...and, Not Between...to, Between the Cracks, Bid, Bid, Bade, Big
of a, Borne Out, With an E, Both, Brackets, Broadcast, the Verb ,
Cardinal/Ordinal Numbers, Cast, the Verb , Center Around/On,
Chair/Chairperson, Cohort, Collective, Collective Nouns, Compare To/With,
Comprise, Could/Couldnt Care Less, Criterion/Criteria; Phenomenon/Phenomena,
Danglers, Decimate, Declined TO Comment, Defining Clause See That vs.
Which, Democratic, the Adjective, Difference/Differential, Different
From/Than, Double Possessive I, Double Possessive II, Drag/Drug, Due To,
Each Other/One Another, Eke,, Elegant Variation; Echo Enormity, Evoke/Invoke;
Precipitate/Precipitous, Facility, False Titles, Farther/Further , Feud,
Fewer/Less , Five Times Below, 160% Less, etc., Flaunt/Flout , Fondle, Forbid
Make the past tense forbade. Former Native , Fortuitous , From Whence
See Whence, Fulsome; Problematic, Fused Participle; Off Of ,
Gantlet/Gauntlet; Stanch/Staunch, Gerrymander/Jerry-Built/Jury-Rigged ,
Gibe/Jibe, Gild/Paint the Lily, (I Am) Good / (I Am) Well, Graduated
College, Graffito/Graffiti, Hand Down/Hand Up , Hanged/Hung, Have to/Got to,
Head/Head Up , Heart-Rending/Heart-Wrenching, He or She, etc., Hold [ Down]
the Fort, Home/Hone, Honored in the Breach, Human Race See Oddities,
Hyphens, If NotImpact, the Verb, Implement,
Imply/Infer,Important/Importantly,Incidence/Incident/Instance,Individuals/Peo
ple/Persons,In Line/On Line, Online, In Order To ,In, Up and On, Irrelevant
(NOT Irrevelant), Issues, Late, as in Dead, Lend/Loan, Lie, Lay, and All
That, Lightening; Forecasted, Like/Such As, Like, With a Clause, Lions
Share, Literally, Loath/Loathe, Located/Situated, Masterful/Masterly,
May/Might, Media, Plural, Me, Myself (Reflexive Pronouns), Mondegreen,
Monies, More Than/Over, Myriad, Namesake, Near Miss, Neither None, Plural
Normalcy, Notoriety, Oddities, Older Than Him; To She and I, One Of/Among
With Plural Verb, One of the Only, Only, Placement Of, Oral/Verbal,
Orient/Orientate, Partake/Participate/Take Part, People/Persons See
Individuals/People/Persons, Per , Pleaded Guilty, Pole/Post Position,
Police, The Possessive Nouns with Pronouns, Preposition Ending Sentence,
Prior to/Before, Rage/Wage, Ravage/Ravish, Raveled Sleave, With an A, A
Readers Potpourri, The Reason Is That, Rebut/Refute, Reference as a Verb,
Regard/Regards, Reluctant/Reticent, Remunerate/Renumerate, Replete, Resonate
, Reverend, Sequence of Tenses, Series: Changing Numbers, Series, Run-On,
Serve/Service, Singular Noun, Plural Pronoun, Sleight/Slight of Hand, Snuck
, Split Infinitive, Straighten/Straiten, Suspect/Suspected (adj.)
Swatch/Swath, Tautology, That Of, Omitted, That vs. Which, They Each ,
Till/Until , Tons Was, Tortuous/Torturous, To She and I See Older Than
Him , To...To, Toward(s), Troopers/Troupers, Try And/Try To, Unique,
Use/Usage Wangle/Wrangle Weapon(s) Inspector Well, the Adjective, Whence,
Where...at, Wherefore, Whether (or not), Who/Whom, Whose/Of Which, Woof
Down, You, Understood
Evan Jenkins writes the "Language Corner" column of the Columbia Journalism Review. and is a consulting editor of CJR. He was editor in residence at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; senior editor, Columbia JournalismReview; senior editor, The Racing Times; deputy news editor; The New York Times; chief copy editor, Newsday, and a reporter and copy editor at the Worcester Telegram in Massachusetts.
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