The Times Writer's Guide is the essential single-volume guide for all who aspire to imrove their writing skills.

Whether you want to write a novel, draft a report for the School Board, create a compelling CV, write a letter of protest to the Council that will be taken seriously, or enter the brave new world of e-mail, this book is for you and indeed for all the family: the essential desk companion for anyone requiring a friendly guide to modern communication, from the composition of effective complaints to choosing the right `emoticon' to sign off your e-mail with.

Section 1: Grammar
What is Grammar? Why use it? Sentences, Parts of Speech: Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Determiners, Conjunctions, Prepositions

Section 2: Punctuation
The complete Guide to the `nuts and bolts' of English speech, capitalization and commas to hyphens and quotations marks.

Section 3: Writing Tips
Achieving clarity, Improving your power of expression, Letter Writing, Creating a CV, E-mailing

Section 4: Building and Perfecting your Vocabulary
A-Z listing of useful but unfamiliar words, with straightforward guidance on difficult and confusable words, The 2,000 most Misspelt Words, Problem Proper Nouns and Commonly Mispelt Names, Ways to Improve Your Spelling, Some Spelling Rules, American Spelling

Section 5: Foreign Words and Phrases
A-Z listing of common foreign terms, with definitions

Section 6: Abbreviations
A-Z listing of common and some uncommon abbreviations and acronyms, with full explanations

Section 7: Pointers from The Times Guide to Style and Usage