National standards of literacy are frequently under fire, but where is the evidence which shows a decline in standards This text focuses on the faults in current usage, catalogues common infelicities and shows how to avoid them. Newspapers, journals and magazines have been studied for evidence of lingusistic misdemeanours - the author not only points out the errors, but demonstrates the way to a more elegant use of English. As a survey of today's climate of literacy, or illiteracy, this book attempts to give more substance to the controversy. Originally published as "The Queen's English", this text aims to make a significant contribution to the task of improving standards of literacy and linguistic accuracy.