Garner’s Usage Tip of the Day: schism [and more!] | Bryan A. Garner, LawProse Blog

Schism isn't a word I foresee using much, but it's certainly a clear, powerful word to remember for that particular relevant statement.

However, I'm not highlighting schism for its own sake. Instead, I want to highlight Garner's Usage Tip of the Day, which you can subscribe to at his LawProse website or read in his blog.

Bryan Garner's site is about legal writing, and he writes a lot about legal writing in plain language. But his word choices and other writings apply to all fields of writing.

I also want to highlight Garner's Modern American Usage. Garner deals with grammar, syntax, word choice, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and style. I consider it the modern equivalent of the classic books on writing usage by Fowler and Follett. In fact, I prefer it to them.

I keep several references books handy on my desk (and a bunch more on six shelves next to my desk). Garner's book is on my desk. The others:

• The Associated Press Stylebook
• The Gregg Reference Manual
• The Chicago Manual of Style
• Robert Hartwell Fiske's Dictionary of Concise Writing
• Oxford American Dictionary. 

Also, Garner's usage tip on schizm is featured in my daily paper, The Write Style: Editorial Choices, available at the Editorial Style tab above (and by free email subscription).