Do I Make Myself Clear?

February 1, 2017
Although this is yet another how-to, self-help text for would-be writers--with some of the usual hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing about the abuses of English today--this one merits more attention because it comes from the keyboard of a celebrated journalist and editor.Reuters editor at large Evans (My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times, 2009), who has been an editor of the Times and the Sunday Times, chronicles the many aspects of writing and language that annoy him. Some of his principal targets include obfuscation, misused and/or abused words, long introductory phrases or clauses, overlong sentences, cliches, and grammatical stumbles (dangling participles, superfluous adverbs, and their foul kin. The author is mellower about ending sentences with prepositions (noting this was a nonsensical proscription from the beginning) and sentence fragments. A sentence "expresses a complete thought," he reminds us, and complete thoughts do not always feature a subject and verb. Evans begins with a fine chapter that could stand alone: an overview of what he's doing and why. He moves along to some sections about the abuses of those in the business, legal, political, and educational worlds. In the penultimate section, the author offers examples of writers in the right, Roger Angell, and Barbara Demick among them. In between is a mixture of portions of published texts that Evans re-edits for our edification; lists (sometimes too long) of cliches, phrases that writers can easily shorten, and words that writers misuse/confuse--e.g., "appraise and "apprise, "insidious" and "invidious." Readers may take some smug delight in the authors' own use of the passive voice and his pluralizing of Humpty (as in Dumpty) with "Humpties" (does Billy become Billies?). But who's perfect? Thoughtful ruminations about current language mixed with praise for clarity and disdain for murkiness.

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September 1, 2016

Having served as editorial director of numerous magazines, newspapers, and publishing houses and in 2001 been voted the all-time greatest British newspaper editor by his peers, Evans knows what he's talking about when he argues for precision in writing. Lots of best practices; with a 40,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2017

Every writer needs an editor, and British-born best-selling author Evans (My Paper Chase) has filled that role for numerous journalists and other nonfiction writers. Evans's prolific career spans British and American publications such as the Sunday Times (editor, 1967-81), Atlantic Monthly, and U.S. News & World Report. His investigative work is also the subject of the documentary Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime. Mixing straightforward, sentence-level revision strategies with higher-level analyses of complex texts, this latest work balances critique with celebration. Some of the advice covers familiar topics (e.g., the passive voice, nominalizations); other subjects include language choices, which are contextualized in relation to historical, political, and social movements and events. In addition to examples from various media outlets, White House reports and legislative texts come under scrutiny. The idea of "clear" writing guides the suggestions, analysis, and revisions of exemplary and less-effective prose. VERDICT A fascinating look into the processes that made Evans one of the most respected journalists of the past century.--Meagan Storey, Virginia Beach

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.