Compose Yourself is the ideal reference work for anyone who wants to express their thoughts in the clearest and most effective way for any audience—whether in essays, journalism, letters or work reports. Inaccurate or poorly expressed writing can create a detrimental impression on the reader, but it is easy to avoid such problems by thinking logically about what you want to say before starting to write. Packed with examples of poor usage from sources such as magazines and newspapers, this commonsense guide demonstrates the best ways of producing confident and persuasive English. An invaluable addition to the bookshelf of everyone who wants to write well, it provides the key tools to help you:

• Focus on what you want to say and keep your message clear
• Use words meaningfully and unambiguously
• Prevent common errors in usage and lapses in grammar
• Find the most appropriate language for your subject
• Avoid jargon, clichés and misuse of metaphors
• Cut out unnecessary phrases and words