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General reading on the English language

One of the best books around for undergraduate students with an interest in the English language is by Kate Burridge and Jean Mulder:

• Kate Burridge and Jean Mulder, English in Australia and New Zealand: an introduction to its history and use. (1998, Melbourne: Oxford University Press).

This is a great place for you to get started if you want to know more about the English language and includes a discussion of grammar that we used in places as a model for this site.

Another fantastic resource about all aspects of English that you may enjoy is:

• David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. 2nd ed. 2003, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.)

Resources relating to more specific areas are listed below.

English grammar

The model of English grammar we've introduced here is a descriptive one, informed by the principles and techniques of modern linguistic analysis. There are a range of print-based resources that take a similar approach that may be useful to you. These include small, accessible and low cost versions such as:

• David Crystal, with cartoons by Edward McLachlan, Rediscover grammar. c2004. Harlow, England: Pearson/Longman.

• Peter Collins, English grammar. 1998, Melbourne: Addison Wesley.

The following text was a major source for the analysis of English presented here. It is more technically advanced than the preceding texts but still a practical choice:

• Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A student's introduction to English grammar. 2005, Cambridge; Port Melbourne, Vic.: Cambridge University Press.

And the much larger (and more expensive):

• Sidney Greenbaum (edited by Edmund Weiner) The Oxford reference grammar. 2000, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.

And finally, the most recent 'mother of all grammars':

• Rodney Huddleston, Geoffrey K. Pullum in collaboration with Laurie Bauer [et al.]. The Cambridge grammar of the English language. 2002, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

in which you'll find the answer to virtually any question about English grammar you can possibly imagine!

Style guides

Style guides assume basic knowledge about English grammar (so your work here is about to start paying off!). They come in many forms and focus on a range of writing and publication related issues. The style guides listed here also vary in size and complexity – we list them from smallest to largest. There are a lot of style guides around – many organisations have style guides for specific aspects of their in-house writing and publication. A good strategy is to find a style guide that seems to meet your needs, get to know how it works and use it regularly...

The classic small guide is:

• William Strunk and E.B. White, The elements of style. 4th ed. C2000, Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This is available in a range of editions and often pops up in second-hand bookshops.

Another perennial favourite is:

• Joseph M. Williams, Style: ten lessons in clarity and grace. 5th ed. 1997 New York: Longman.

Penguin have a recent pair of books in their 'Penguin writer's guides' series that cover much the same ground in two volumes and with more examples:

• George Davidson, How to punctuate. 2005, London: Penguin Books.

• Robert Allen, How to write better English. 2005, London: Penguin Books.

Representing excellent value for money, the more comprehensive and locally produced volume is:

• The Style Guide. 6th ed. 2002. Milton, Qld.: Wiley Australia.

For those working within academia, the following may be useful:

• MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. 3rd ed. 2008, New York: Modern Language Association of America.

While the most comprehensive option is:

• Pam Peters, The Cambridge guide to English Usage. 2004, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

which focuses particularly on the correct usage of English words but which also contains advice on punctuation and other matters.

History of English

A most enjoyable encounter with the English language can be had among the pages of

• David Crystal, The stories of English. 2004, London: Penguin Books.

And there are many other books on the history of English around. There is also a TV series that pops up fairly regularly on SBS (available for sale and through the library as a DVD) called The adventure of English.