Mark Broatch is a journalist, critic and author, and an unashamed language nerd. After gaining an MA (Hons) in English Literature and Linguistics at one of New Zealand’s top universities he went on to be a senior editor and chief subeditor at three national publications.
Word to the Wise
USD $19.99 Tax Included
Untangling the Mix-ups, Misuse and Myths of Language
Even the best wordsmiths can trip over words that are commonly misused, mixed up or misspelled. This useful reference gets to the bottom of these language issues so that you can ensure you’ve got the word you’re looking for. With examples of how to sharpen up text and improve your writing, lists of useful social media abbreviations and a discussion of unusual plurals, this playful look at the often bizarre English language has got you covered, whether you’re writing a book, blog or an email.
SPECIFICATIONS: Paperback | 229 x 152 mm / 9 x 6 Inches | 192 Pages |
See Mark speak at the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival (NZ), in March 2019
ABC Melbourne’s Breakfast Show radio segment
“A book written for the everyday Joe to put some clarity around the words we use incorrectly, to give us a bit of grammatical advice now that we are unleashed on the world wide web as writers. The book is fantastic, because it is divided up alphabetically and you go through words in each letter grouping that we often misuse.” Click here to listen.
Independent Australia blog post
“Succinctly written definitions and examples are presented by Broatch to give clear understandings, pronunciations and uses of hundreds of commonly misused words.” Click here to listen.
Blue Wolf Reviews review article
“…a very handy book.” Click here to read.
GX Express magazine article
“Should be obligatory reading for newcomers to publishing and older commentators who lack the knowledge… a crash course in vocabulary extension” Click here to read.
Radio New Zealand radio segment
“Mark Broatch is a self-professed language nerd… also a writer, editor and journalist. His latest book is Word to the Wise where he untangles the mix-ups, misuse and myths of language.” Click here to listen.
Good Reading review article
“…a hand alphabetized guide of commonly mixed up terms ” Click here to read.
Salt 106.5’s Mornings with Fiona Cameron radio segment
“…the aim of the book is to try to help people be precise and clear (in their writing).” Click here to listen.
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Everyone Can Write
USD $14.95 Tax IncludedEveryone Can Write is an easy-to-understand, practical, ‘how to write’ book that is accessible to everyone from a business executive wanting to polish his reports to a retiree wanting to chronicle her family history. It solves the problems that beginning writers struggle with by giving them an easy-to-follow and simple set of rules that allows them to write rapidly and clearly.
The book outlines the three forms of non-fiction writing: report, narrative and essay. Each one is dissected and a set of rules applied to each structure. The rules are easily put into practice and vary for each structure. For example, in report writing, two easy-to-apply rules are: 25 words to a sentence and 3 or 4 sentences in a paragraph.
The author has also developed a foolproof method of structuring your writing, so that you make effective use of your time. It’s based on the easy-to-remember three-step formula: Pre-write, Free-write, Re-write. Pre-write refers to researching the necessary information. Free-write refers to getting the information onto the computer screen. Re-write refers to the essential task of editing the writing into clear readable text. This technique allows writers to become the editors of their own writing, thereby dramatically improve its quality.
The essentials of grammar and punctuation, easily confused words and other useful tips for writers are also covered.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback | 162 mm x 125 mm | 176 Pages |