Painless Writing (Barron's Painless)

I usually wait to review a book till I'm finished, or at least half way through. I'm only through the first chapter of this book though, and I'm making an exception, because... I've been looking for a grammar book for over a month now and Amazon has precious few helpful reviews in this area! That's not Amazon's fault of course; apparently people aren't reviewing their books, and those that are aren't providing much depth. So I may well adjust this review as I read it through, but I want to help anyone else in my predicament.This book is good, but at best what I see from the first chapter is a three and a half star for a few reasons: Rule after rule is run through in rapid succession, with no exercises till 4 topics (with sub-topics each) have been covered. The exercises at the end of the chapter have to be done outside the book (I know it's not a workbook, so I'm not deducting additional points for that, just letting you know). Finally, this is not a whole language approach, which all effective language skills need to be. The book is good, from what I see so far- just limited.Other things you may want to know: This book is definitely meant for a middle school age group. It can be helpful to others, as any book can be, but it's apparent that it's meant for that age range. It's short and runs through quick (this can be good or bad, depends on what you want). Finally, it's really important to know that grammar instruction doesn't stick (anymore than listening to TV in Spanish once a week makes you fluent) unless you use it in it's real world context. Language is whole, and has to be taken as a whole in order to progress. To learn Spanish really effectively you would spend time reading, writing, and speaking in the language daily. The parts come together with correct usage. The reason some people are more natural at grammar is because they speak (and are surrounded by others who speak) correctly, read well written books (because they enjoy it), and write frequently. To really get grammar read a rule, practice it, then read things you love (active reading), write, and edit... Then move on to the next.So this book is okay, just not quite what I was looking for. I fully intend to use it, and run through the whole thing; but I'm also looking for other books now, like Easy Grammar Plus Workbook  and  Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer's Workshop . Though I haven't tried them yet, they seem to be what I'm looking for. I just wish there were more detailed reviews or even more info on the web in this area. Please feel free to add comments- feedback would be really helpful.

It makes NO DIFFERENCE if you are 13 or 60, you will appreciate this book!Baron's Painless series is fantastic. My brother, who is a writer, expressed some concern that he wasn't expressing himself as clearly as he could, so I bought him this book along with Painless Grammar.This book makes writing seem so easy! Common issues are broken down and explained first before being overcome one at a time. Combined with simple practices, you can easily identify the hiccups is your writing and process, and address them before they ever get to and editor (or teacher!) to be marked up in red.Fantastic!!

The wrong and right examples of parts of grammar shown. Valuable and clear explanations. However, the book looks boring with only linear explanations and the same font type. Also, if more exercises are given, it would be better. To me it is a good book but a bit expensive and not really worth the value for the $ I paid for the conversion in Malaysian ringgit with the shipping costs.

I gave this to my junior high age daughter to help her understand writing style. I am a writer by trade but I love it when someone makes the writing rules accessible. Even though it is written with the junior high/high school student in mind, it was refreshing to learn about writing style in a non stuffy way. A great refresher for anyone wanting to "bone-up" on their writing skills.I have several other of Barron's "Painless" series - all highly recommended.

I like the way it's set up as relatively short readings with exercises after each section for reinforcement. I'm using it as part of my son's 8th-9th grade homeschool language arts curriculum to help him work on his writing skills. We also use Painless Grammar, the two books go well together.

We home educate our kiddos and have for over 20plus years. I use the entire painless series. They cut through to the core skill that needs to be learned with plenty of practical advice and practice pages.

My comments about this book are very much the same as my comments about Painless Reading Comprehension. Writing is a skill that a lot of kids are struggling with thanks to all the new electronics. I wanted to ensure that my grandson has good resources to help him as he tackles harder and harder assignments.

I found this book very easy to read (it's not like reading a textbook). The examples are great and helpful. I think this book is suitable for any level writer. You'll find this same sort of stuff in the style manuals, but this one is meant to be read like a book.Caveat - I have the written and Kindle version. The Kindle version is awful because the formatting is all screwed up.

Excellent book.

Great

Best book around for improving Writing skills. While teaching for kids, I have learned myself a lot -)Definitely recommend without second thought. Good writing should bring the vivid images into our mind and will connect with the story.Best Part is - they give plenty of examples on bad version and improvised version. You can see a sea of change on how right words, adjectives willreally make a difference. Really good -)

Satisfied with the product and service. All as described