Economical Writing, Third Edition: Thirty-Five Rules for Clear and Persuasive Prose

by Deirdre Nansen McCloskey

Book Overview

Economics is not a field that is known for good writing. Charts, yes. Sparkling prose, no.

Except, that is, when it comes to Deirdre Nansen McCloskey. Her conversational and witty yet always clear style is a hallmark of her classic works of economic history, enlivening the dismal science and engaging readers well beyond the discipline. And now she's here to share the secrets of how it's done.

Economical Writing is itself economical:...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 022644807X
• ISBN13: 9780226448077
• Release Date: May 2019
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A must for anyone serious about the discipline

A non-technical, and humorous, little book about writing well.

Very excellent book for better writing

This is a very excellent book for people writing papers for economics.

A wonderful book

This is a wonderful little book that every college undergraduate--not just Econ majors--should read carefully. It's a clear, lively, and witty guide to good expository writing. I assigned a few chapters from it to first-year college students taking a seminar on writing, and they found it excellent--much better than the main writing textbook used in the class.McCloskey covers most of the topics that college writing textbooks address, but hers is not a reference textbook. It's an actual book that you read and enjoy from cover to cover. Her advice is priceless, and so many students could become much stronger writers by following it closely.I first read this book (in its first edition) as a graduate student. I disliked much of it and was quite mad at the author. When she described what "bad writers" do, she was describing everything that I was in the habit of doing! Over time I've become a better writer and I've had to recognize that her advice was sound and my writing poor.If you're a student, please read this book--you'll be glad that you did. If you're a professor, please require your students to read it--you'll be doing them a big favor. And you'll see the results in their papers, which won't be quite as painful to grade...

Perhaps the Best Brief Book on Writing Well

I became acquainted with Economical Writing's predecessor when McCloskey first served as my advisor at the University of Iowa. I've found Economical Writing a pleasure to read--and reread. I've used Economical Writing and its predecessor to good effect during the ensuing 10 years, teaching students of history and rhetoric to write more clearly and persuasively. McCloskey, considered by some to write more clearly than any other economist, shares a good number of basic and advanced techniques for writing better. She uses brevity, humor and examples to persuade the student that writing clearly matters and that anyone, no matter how skilled (or unskilled), can write more clearly. When I use Economical Writing in a class I don't teach from it; rather, I refer students to small portions of the book which further (and perhaps more effectively) illustrate points I make in comments I write on student papers. In the past I've found the book invaluable for helping students write more clearly and persuasively. I plan to use Economical Writing once again next semester in rhetoric and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to write better--or to help teach others to write better.McCloskey divides her economical little book of 98 page into 33 chapters, including suggestions on everything from which rules of your grammar-school teacher you should break (many), to how to make your writing cohere (repetition), to why even the cynical student (or professor) should write better ("good writing pays well and bad writing pays badly"). In providing suggestions for improvement, McCloskey clearly demonstrates the same depth and breadth of knowledge that she brings to all of her academic ventures. McCloskey may well have written the best brief book on how to write well. By limiting Economical Writing to 98 pages and a such a low price, she certainly has written the most economical superb book on writing well.

Writing with Clarity, Brevity and Wit

Professor McCloskey presents 31 rules for rhetoric (invention, arrangement, and especially style) that cross outmoded traditional teachings. Writing with verve, her practical rules combined with concrete examples of wordcraft motivate and encourage. I have a shelf of writer's guides and style manuals, but it took this small classic to get me over a three-year long writer's block. It would be difficult to praise this book too highly. It has been a classic from its first incarnation in April 1985.