Book Review – My Dog Bites the English Teacher: Practical Grammar Made Quick and Easy by Marian Anders

My Dog Bites The English Teacher: Practical Grammar Made Quick and Easy

by Marian Anders

List $14.95

ISBN-10: 0979488419

ISBN-13: 9780979488412

Paperback, 224pp

Publisher: Aviary Publishers Incorporated

From the publisher – This book is for people who want to improve their writing. Clear explanations and step-by-step directions show how to find and fix mistakes in writing such as fragments, commas, and others. Stick with the basics in the first five chapters, or read to the end and learn the intricacies of traditional grammar.

This book shows writers how to identify and fix fragments, comma splices, run-ons, commas, apostrophes, and other common mistakes using a logical, step-by-step method that always works.

I loved English from the time I learned to read and write. Probably that is why I chose to teach English for 35 years. Maybe that is why I offered to review Marian Anders book “My Dog Bites the English Teacher: Practical Grammar Made Quick and Easy” ten years after I retired.

I read My Dog cover to cover. Anders well-organized and laid out her topics sequentially, no jumping back and forth. Good focus always helps. Her coverage of subject-verb, phrase-clause, non-sentences, commas, other punctuation, case, writing, homophones, and sentence kinds was definitive without being overly technical. I appreciated the end section on traditional grammar as well as the quick reference guide that followed the index.

Anders’s approach that people should write using logic as opposed to rote memorization. To write correctly one needs insight, natural talent, and practical grammar. A little logic and some simple tricks can make words sparkle. Her emphasizing there are different levels of use in the academic and business world vs. everyday communication gives notice that all writers should aim for their target audience. Her use of acronyms like FANBOY (for the coordinating conjunctions) serves as a brain teaser for English students.

My Dog Bites the English Teacher is a quick non-technical reference for the average student. It is not meant to be scholarly. Its approach is casual. It is not a definitive current English grammar and usage handbook. What it is instead is a good supplemental text aimed for heterogeneously grouped language arts classes from middle school on without the tedium of repeated drills. It also can be useful for homogeneously grouped average and remedial classes.

This is a good desk reference and more.