Building great sentences Exploring the writer's craft

To understand prose style, according to professor Brooks Landon (English, Univ. of Iowa), is to understand the importance of syntax, word choice, and propositional content to effective writing. The sentence is the key to all writing, especially all good writing, and this intelligent course focuses on the foundational and essential role the sentence plays in helping writers to achieve best the meanings they intend. It is sensibly laid out so that the viewer can better grasp the importance of concepts such as cumulative syntax, suspensiveness, and sequential rhythm in creating masterly sentences. Landon manages to make sophisticated linguistic concepts accessible to the nonspecialist and helps viewers appreciate the skill that informs great writing. With an outstanding course guide and suggested supplementary reading list, this is one of Teaching Company's strongest offerings. Linguists and those with an interest in language and writing will find this series particularly useful.-Herbert E. Shapiro, Empire State Coll., SUNY-Rochester (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.