What do you think?
Rate this book
How to Write Clearly. Rules and Exercises on English Compostion - The Original Classic Edition
How to Write Clearly. Rules and Exercises on English Compostion by Rev. Edwin A. Abbott - The Original Classic Edition Finally available, a high quality book of the original classic edition.
This is a new and freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you.
Enjoy this classic work today. These selected paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside:
Thus, the place for an adverb, as a rule, should be between the subject and verb: He quickly left the room; but if quickly is to be emphatic, it must come at the beginning or end, as in I told him to leave the room slowly, but he left quickly.
...Suspense is caused (1) by placing the if-clause first, and not last, in a conditional sentence; (2) by placing participles before the words they qualify; (3) by using suspensive conjunctions, e.g. not only, either, partly, on the one hand, in the first place, &c.
...The introduction of a clause with if or though in the middle of a sentence may often cause ambiguity, especially when a great part of the sentence depends on that: His enemies answered that, for the sake of preserving the public peace, they would keep quiet for the present, though he declared that cowardice was the motive of the delay, and that for this reason they would put off the trial to a more convenient season.
...The connection between different sentences must be kept up by Adverbs used as Conjunctions, or by means of some other connecting words at the beginning of each sentence.-Leave out the conjunctions and other connecting words, and it will be seen that the following sentences lose much of their meaning: -
...Pym was looked upon as the man of greatest experience in parliaments, where he had (50) served very long, and was always (50) a man of business, (7) being an officer in the Exchequer, (43) and of a good reputation generally, (30) though known to be inclined to the Puritan party; yet not of those furious resolutions against the Church as the other leading men were, and (44) wholly devoted to the Earl of Bedford, who had nothing of that spirit.
This is a new and freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you.
Enjoy this classic work today. These selected paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside:
Thus, the place for an adverb, as a rule, should be between the subject and verb: He quickly left the room; but if quickly is to be emphatic, it must come at the beginning or end, as in I told him to leave the room slowly, but he left quickly.
...Suspense is caused (1) by placing the if-clause first, and not last, in a conditional sentence; (2) by placing participles before the words they qualify; (3) by using suspensive conjunctions, e.g. not only, either, partly, on the one hand, in the first place, &c.
...The introduction of a clause with if or though in the middle of a sentence may often cause ambiguity, especially when a great part of the sentence depends on that: His enemies answered that, for the sake of preserving the public peace, they would keep quiet for the present, though he declared that cowardice was the motive of the delay, and that for this reason they would put off the trial to a more convenient season.
...The connection between different sentences must be kept up by Adverbs used as Conjunctions, or by means of some other connecting words at the beginning of each sentence.-Leave out the conjunctions and other connecting words, and it will be seen that the following sentences lose much of their meaning: -
...Pym was looked upon as the man of greatest experience in parliaments, where he had (50) served very long, and was always (50) a man of business, (7) being an officer in the Exchequer, (43) and of a good reputation generally, (30) though known to be inclined to the Puritan party; yet not of those furious resolutions against the Church as the other leading men were, and (44) wholly devoted to the Earl of Bedford, who had nothing of that spirit.
56 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1883
94 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Edwin A. Abbott
216 books834 followersPeople best know British theologian and writer Edwin Abbott Abbott for his imaginative satirical novella
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
(1884).
This English schoolmaster authored of the mathematical satire.
He was educated at the city of London school and at college of Saint John, Cambridge, where he as fellow took the highest honors in classics, mathematics, and theology. In 1862, he took orders. After holding masterships at school of king Edward, Birmingham, and at Clifton college, he succeeded G.F. Mortimer as headmaster of the City of London School in 1865 at the early age of 26 years. He was Hulsean lecturer in 1876.
He retired in 1889, and devoted himself to literary and theological pursuits. Liberal inclinations of Abbott in theology were prominent both in his educational views and in his books. His Shakespearian Grammar (1870) is a permanent contribution to English philology. In 1885 he published a life of Francis Bacon. His theological writings include three anonymously published religious romances - Philochristus (1878), Onesimus (1882), and Sitanus (1906).
More weighty contributions are the anonymous theological discussion The Kernel and the Husk (1886), Philomythus (1891), his book The Anglican Career of Cardinal Newman (1892), and his article "The Gospels" in the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, embodying a critical view which caused considerable stir in the English theological world. He also wrote St Thomas of Canterbury, his Death and Miracles (1898), Johannine Vocabulary (1905), Johannine Grammar (1906). Flatland was published in 1884.
Sources that say he is the brother of Evelyn Abbott (1843 - 1901), who was a well-known tutor of Balliol College, Oxford, and author of a scholarly history of Greece, are in error.
This English schoolmaster authored of the mathematical satire.
He was educated at the city of London school and at college of Saint John, Cambridge, where he as fellow took the highest honors in classics, mathematics, and theology. In 1862, he took orders. After holding masterships at school of king Edward, Birmingham, and at Clifton college, he succeeded G.F. Mortimer as headmaster of the City of London School in 1865 at the early age of 26 years. He was Hulsean lecturer in 1876.
He retired in 1889, and devoted himself to literary and theological pursuits. Liberal inclinations of Abbott in theology were prominent both in his educational views and in his books. His Shakespearian Grammar (1870) is a permanent contribution to English philology. In 1885 he published a life of Francis Bacon. His theological writings include three anonymously published religious romances - Philochristus (1878), Onesimus (1882), and Sitanus (1906).
More weighty contributions are the anonymous theological discussion The Kernel and the Husk (1886), Philomythus (1891), his book The Anglican Career of Cardinal Newman (1892), and his article "The Gospels" in the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, embodying a critical view which caused considerable stir in the English theological world. He also wrote St Thomas of Canterbury, his Death and Miracles (1898), Johannine Vocabulary (1905), Johannine Grammar (1906). Flatland was published in 1884.
Sources that say he is the brother of Evelyn Abbott (1843 - 1901), who was a well-known tutor of Balliol College, Oxford, and author of a scholarly history of Greece, are in error.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 15, 2013
“Almost every English boy can be taught to write clearly, so far at least as clearness depends upon the arrangement of words.”
I am neither English, nor a boy but I thought maybe I also can be taught how to write clearly, or at least what passed for clearly in the 19th century.
It was an interesting book if you can get past its obvious misogyny. Actually, misogyny is not the right word. It is not that Abbott hates women; he just doesn’t acknowledge their existence. In all hundreds of examples used in this book there is only ONE which talks about a woman. (Funnily enough, it is used to explain the concept of bathos). Abbott even excludes female pronouns. One of his rules reads: “Be careful in the use of "he," "it," "they," "these," &c.”
It is quite ironic coming from a man who wrote Flatland, which among other things is a satire on the discrimination of women. Makes you think: maybe it wasn’t a satire after all?
When it comes to writing Edwin A. Abbott thinks that the biggest threat to it is ambiguity. He trusts very little the intelligence of the reader or helpful context. He provides many helpful rules on how to avoid ambiguity. If you stick to them, you’re sure to never risk another double-entendre ever. Oh, Edwin, Edwin. But the ambiguity is the spice of life!!
I also really enjoyed the ads of other books placed at the end of this digitized edition (apparently they were in the front of the original printed edition). They advertised other books by the publisher, including a few other numbers by Edwin A. Abbott, like ‘English Lessons For English People’. It was initially called ‘English Lessons for Boys’ but the Abbott realised that “it is intended primarily for boys, but, in the present unsatisfactory state of English education, we entertain a hope that it may possibly be found not unfit for some who have passed the age of boyhood; and in this hope we have ventured to give it the title of English Lessons for English People.” For a second there I hoped that maybe he realised that not only boys can learn grammar but that it can also be taught to the fair sex. Sadly, no. He only believed that also grown-up boys could learn grammar and that’s what he meant by ‘people’.
My favourite ad was for the book titled “How To Parse”. It was beautifully apologetic, because it is rather hard to try to sell someone a book on parsing. After all, “Of all subjects of study, it may be safely admitted that grammar possesses as a rule the fewest attractions for the youthful mind”. It can hardly get more grammatical than parsing. I, however, love parsing. I don’t think the art of parsing is taught at English schools anymore but it is still part of the curriculum in Polish schools. I love parsing because it combines a few of my favourite things: logic, grammar and words. I can parse like no one’s business. I’m gonna go get my geek on and parse some.
Was this all clear enough for ya?
I am neither English, nor a boy but I thought maybe I also can be taught how to write clearly, or at least what passed for clearly in the 19th century.
It was an interesting book if you can get past its obvious misogyny. Actually, misogyny is not the right word. It is not that Abbott hates women; he just doesn’t acknowledge their existence. In all hundreds of examples used in this book there is only ONE which talks about a woman. (Funnily enough, it is used to explain the concept of bathos). Abbott even excludes female pronouns. One of his rules reads: “Be careful in the use of "he," "it," "they," "these," &c.”
It is quite ironic coming from a man who wrote Flatland, which among other things is a satire on the discrimination of women. Makes you think: maybe it wasn’t a satire after all?
When it comes to writing Edwin A. Abbott thinks that the biggest threat to it is ambiguity. He trusts very little the intelligence of the reader or helpful context. He provides many helpful rules on how to avoid ambiguity. If you stick to them, you’re sure to never risk another double-entendre ever. Oh, Edwin, Edwin. But the ambiguity is the spice of life!!
I also really enjoyed the ads of other books placed at the end of this digitized edition (apparently they were in the front of the original printed edition). They advertised other books by the publisher, including a few other numbers by Edwin A. Abbott, like ‘English Lessons For English People’. It was initially called ‘English Lessons for Boys’ but the Abbott realised that “it is intended primarily for boys, but, in the present unsatisfactory state of English education, we entertain a hope that it may possibly be found not unfit for some who have passed the age of boyhood; and in this hope we have ventured to give it the title of English Lessons for English People.” For a second there I hoped that maybe he realised that not only boys can learn grammar but that it can also be taught to the fair sex. Sadly, no. He only believed that also grown-up boys could learn grammar and that’s what he meant by ‘people’.
My favourite ad was for the book titled “How To Parse”. It was beautifully apologetic, because it is rather hard to try to sell someone a book on parsing. After all, “Of all subjects of study, it may be safely admitted that grammar possesses as a rule the fewest attractions for the youthful mind”. It can hardly get more grammatical than parsing. I, however, love parsing. I don’t think the art of parsing is taught at English schools anymore but it is still part of the curriculum in Polish schools. I love parsing because it combines a few of my favourite things: logic, grammar and words. I can parse like no one’s business. I’m gonna go get my geek on and parse some.
Was this all clear enough for ya?
January 19, 2022
Este é um livro com várias sugestões interessantes sobre como construir escrita em inglês; boa parte do que tem nele tem uma grande chance de ajudar muito quem escreve em inglês, e parte do conteúdo é bastante sobre questões de estilo. Cada pessoa que ler e em seguida for escrever algo vai considerar ou não as recomendações que tem nele, de acordo com o que fizer sentido para a própria escrita.
March 29, 2013
You might be a great speaker, or great at maintaining relationships… But eventually business is going to come down to good, concise writing. This is especially true when writing documents that will became a part of a legal or binding agreement–like a contract or a proposal. Clear writing can be the different not only between understanding and winning business, but defending yourself when it comes to a dispute. This is not your average school grammar lesson: It has easy to remember tips to keep your grammar correct and concise. Though, the exercises do feel a bit like homework…
January 25, 2013
I found this mildly interesting. Abbott makes some good points. I was interested in his remarks about various trends in writing at the time, especially those that continue.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews