Review Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences

Review Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences There must have been a boom in grammar books aimed at general audiences between Eats, Shoots Leaves in 2001 and the last Grammar Girl book in 2012.I certainly havent read all of the books published during this period, but so far Janis Bells Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences might be my favorite. In seven clear chapters Bell covers the most common mistakes that writers of English make.What makes this book so appealing to me is that it contains both instruction that is easily understood, and plenty of grammar terminology. The latter is something that other books of this type shy away from in order to appeal to the widest possible audience. Bells willingness to use terminology, though, means that her book is one I would certainly recommend to rookie ESL teachers.Now, some people might scoff at the idea of giving a tiny little book to serious English teachers. Seriously, though, there is a huge mass of teachers going overseas every day without proper resources and training. If someone had a sked me when I started teaching how to use the present perfect tense properly, I wouldnt have known how to respond. Nor would I be able to explain the subjunctive mood, or the difference between a coordinating conjunction and a subordinating conjunction or any of the most basic grammatical terms and concepts. Like most teachers I just wasnt taught that kind of stuff. Obviously a teacher who takes their job seriously will reach for something more comprehensive (like, say, Michael Swans Practical English Usage) but Bells book is a perfect way to grasp the basics in under an hour. Heck, an eager teacher could read it on the flight over.Anyways, the chapters here are:CaseAgreementVerb Tense and UsageVerb MoodModifiersConnectivesPunctuationEach chapter ends with a little quiz.I probably wouldnt recommend this book to ESL students (Swans book is a better reference) but I think it is perfect for general audiences and teachers.Oh, if you are curious about the books odd title, it is a riff o n the title of a short story by Ernest Hemingway.