Power Language

Which techniques have empowered the language of Chaucer, Chief Joseph, and Groucho Marx? How can a writer engage readers with winning words and effective phrasing? What skills could make the spoken word eloquent enough to sway a crowd, persuade a boss, or charm a sweetheart? With tongue in cheek and pen in hand, Jeffrey McQuain illuminates the principles of concise and effective word use. Power Language features dozens of helpful guidelines and offers memorable examples from Demosthenes to Dr. Seuss. McQuain's practical advice and plentiful ad-libs clarify the basics of choosing words and using rhetoric, as well as the subtleties of stylistic matters, such as how to" play with cliche,"" redo redundancy," and"single out double meanings." Power Language covers both timeless tactics and contemporary concerns like gender-sensitive language and the bewildering world of the Internet. Upbeat and indispensable, this modern classic will prove endearing and enduring to writers, speakers, stude