Rules for Writers succeeds because it has always been grounded in classroom experience. By looking at her own students' needs, Diana Hacker created an affordable and practical classroom tool that doubles as a quick reference. Developed with the help of instructors from two- and four-year schools, the sixth edition gives students quick access to the information they need to solve writing problems in any college course.
In the Hacker tradition, the new contributing authors — Nancy Sommers, Tom Jehn, Jane Rosenzweig, and Marcy Carbajal Van Horn — have crafted solutions for the writing problems of today's college students. Together they give us a new edition that provides more help with academic writing and research and one that works better for a wider range of multilingual students. Flexible content options — in print and online — allow students to get more than they pay for.
"Rules for Writers is comprehensive, the examples are clear, and the organization is effective. I like that it provides neither more nor less than my students need."
— Diana Federman, Holyoke Community College
Features
Hacker handbook coverage at a bargain price. Covering everything students look for in a handbook, Rules for Writers is written in commonsense language and uses accessible terminology — and it still costs less than even other concise handbooks.
A practical classroom text and thorough guide to writing, research, argument, and document design. With clear advice at every stage of the writing process, a wide selection of class-tested exercises, five sample papers, ample charts and illustrations, and thorough discussions, Rules for Writers is an effective teaching tool.
A reference text students can use on their own. Trademark reference features — hand-edited sentences, tutorials, a brief menu inside the front cover, color-coded documentation sections, and a user-friendly index — allow students to find what they need and use what they find.
An uncluttered page design. With ample white space, the book's pages lay out complex material and new visual elements as simply as possible, allowing users to find answers quickly.
A fully integrated book and companion Web site. "On the Web" references throughout the book direct students to class-tested Web resources.
Table of Contents
Preface for Instructors
How to Use This Book
THE WRITING PROCESS
1. Generate ideas and sketch a plan.
2. Rough out an initial draft.
3. Make global revisions; then revise sentences.
4. Build effective paragraphs.
DOCUMENT DESIGN
5. Become familiar with the principles of document design.
6. Use standard academic formats.
7. Use standard business formats.
CLARITY
8. Prefer active verbs.
9. Balance parallel ideas.
10. Add needed words.
11. Untangle mixed constructions.
12. Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers.
13. Eliminate distracting shifts.
14. Emphasize key ideas.
15. Provide some variety.
16. Tighten wordy sentences.
17. Choose appropriate language.
18. Find the exact words.
GRAMMAR
19. Repair sentence fragments.
20. Revise run-on sentences.
21. Make subjects and verbs agree.
22. Make pronouns and antecedents agree.
23. Make pronoun references clear.
24. Distinguish between pronouns such as I and me.
25. Distinguish between who and whom.
26. Choose adjectives and adverbs with care.
27. Choose appropriate verb forms, tenses, and moods in standard English.
ESL CHALLENGES
28. Verbs
29. Articles and types of nouns
30. Sentence structure
31. Prepositions and idiomatic expressions
PUNCTUATION
32. The comma
33. Unnecessary commas
34. The semicolon
35. The colon
36. The apostrophe
37. Quotation marks
38. End punctuation
39. Other punctuation marks: the dash, parentheses, brackets, the ellipsis mark, the slash
MECHANICS
40. Abbreviations
41. Numbers
42. Italics (underlining)
43. Spelling
44. The hyphen
45. Capital letters
ACADEMIC WRITING
46. Writing about texts
47. Constructing reasonable arguments
48. Evaluating arguments
RESEARCH
49. Conducting research
50. Evaluating sources
51. Managing information; avoiding plagiarism
WRITING MLA PAPERS
52. Supporting a thesis
53. Avoiding plagiarism
54. Integrating sources
55. Documenting sources
56. Manuscript format; sample paper
WRITING APA PAPERS
57. Supporting a thesis
58. Avoiding plagiarism
59. Integrating sources
60. Documenting sources
61. Manuscript format; sample paper
THE BASICS
62. Parts of speech
63. Sentence patterns
64. Subordinate word groups
65. Sentence types
Glossary of Usage
Answers to Tutorials and Lettered Exercises
Index
ESL Menu
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