Grammar reference book recommendations

[swimmermom3]

I am in need of a grammar reference book and would appreciate your recommendations. If I have a questions about comma placement, I want to grab a book and easily locate what I am looking for. The book needs to take me through high school and my own personal use without being too complicated for my youngest in 7th grade. Numerous examples of a concept are appreciated. No one please take this the wrong way, but no Elements of Style.

[8filltheheart]

I am in need of a grammar reference book and would appreciate your recommendations. If I have a questions about comma placement, I want to grab a book and easily locate what I am looking for. The book needs to take me through high school and my own personal use without being too complicated for my youngest in 7th grade. Numerous examples of a concept are appreciated. No one please take this the wrong way, but no Elements of Style.

 

One that I use is http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/newcatalog.aspx?isbn=0312664761 I also have an old college handbook. The Writer's Reference does have the advantage of including MLA rules.

[swimmermom3]

Eight,

 

That looks like a handy book and it also looks somewhat similar to what I already have on hand which is:

 

The New St. Martin's Handbook-Lunsford & Connors, 1999

MLA Handbook (2003)

 

Am I over-thinking this as usual or do I need something more up to date?

 

The reviews for the book you linked were on the whole very positive. They were also well-written, which is a factor.;)

[LNC]

I have these:

http://www.clp.org/product/cle_english_handbook_767

http://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Composition-Complete-Course/dp/0153119055/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295802328&sr=1-4

 

They are both very good, not a lot of difference between the two! I've heard Rod and Staff has an excellent manual as well. HTH.

[Kareni]

We've been pleased with Great Source's materials. My daughter took Write for College to college with her.

 

The look inside feature at Amazon is informative. There if a Proofreader's section of several hundred pages but also much more.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[swimmermom3]

We've been pleased with Great Source's materials. My daughter took Write for College to college with her.

 

The look inside feature at Amazon is informative. There if a Proofreader's section of several hundred pages but also much more.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

:blushing: I probably don't need to go shopping after all. I have Writer's Inc. and Write Source 2000. I first saw Write Source 2000 when my dd entered our local middle school. They gave each new student a copy to keep for the three years they were there. We like both books but I never heard much about them here and didn't know if they were looked down on since they came from the public school systems. They are excellent resources and I have one of their teacher guides which has handy mini lessons in it. I thought I just had to have Warriners or something similar.

 

Thanks, Kareni. Sometimes I spin needlessly in circles.

[Jane in NC]

My husband and I both used the Hodges Harbrace Handbook as undergrads. We continue to keep a copy on the shelf.

 

But I wanted to mention that I find Purdue's OWL website to be useful! There are new technological resources which the OWL site will mention on their MLA pages. It may take a while for some of these new things to reach a published book.

[dphock]

Take a look at the Transitive Vampire by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. I used to teach writing, and her books not only teach grammar well, they do so in a very funny way, with examples that use great, charmingly funny sentences to demonstrate how it works. Her punctuation book (The Well Tempered Sentence) is great too. Definitely entertaining reading that makes the actual learning happen in a fun way.