Reviews (7)

This is a supplement, not a primary resource
Hopefully this statement will help those of you who are trying to decide what to buy: If you do not own a full copy of the APA Publication Manual, then do not buy this book. This book is meant to be a pocket-sized reference guide that you can carry with you. It is meant as a supplement, but it is not the primary resource -- the APA Publication Manual is the primary resource.
Incomplete
There's no rules for title pages, no examples of manuscript pages, no rules for pagination. It doesn't even tell you if the reference list belongs on a separate page or what its heading looks like. I consider these glaring omissions, particularly if you are expected to use pure APA and have no departmental style guide (like me). This book is basically a glorified guide to citation and syntactic rules. Avoid it and pay the extra five bucks for the complete book. Getting the cheap book as some kind of protest won't signficantly hurt the APA and it will just make things harder for you.

Good book, lacking in visual references
While this is a great condensation of the main rules needed to write in APA style, this book lacks one major thing -- the practical examples of how to apply APA style in a document or manuscript.
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Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Professional - General    5. Psychology    6. Publishing    7. Reference    8. Social sciences    9. Writing Skills    10. American English    11. Usage guides    12. Writing & editing guides   

Editorial Review

Composition teachers throughout the English-speaking world have been pushing this book on their students since it was first published in 1957.Co-author White later revised it, and it remains the most compact and lucid handbook we have for matters of basic principles of composition, grammar, word usage and misusage, and writing style. ... Read more

Reviews (286)

Do You Dread Looking Things Up?
The Elements of Style makes grammatical research so easy, you'll want to look up things you'd always wondered about but thought would take too much time. Recently someone asked me about the use of the serial comma, and, as it was about text we were going to put on the dust jacket of a book, it was sufficiently important to look up. It turned out to be the second item in the Table of Contents. First you get the general rule, in this case "In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last." The example given is "gold, silver, or copper." The sole exception is a series of names in a business: "Brown, Shipley and Co." There! With thirty seconds effort, the issue was adjudicated. I can't recommend it highly enough. Thank God for the Fourth Edition. My Third Edition is dog-eared with use.

Important Reading
This little book is important reading for any one who has or is desiring to write. One of the best things that I could say about the book is that it is full of examples that are juxtaposed. Every element is clearly defined in such a way that any one can easily see the difference between the examples given. This book is a "how to" book for proper use of english in written form. It seemingly covers everything you could imagine from the use of commas and omiting needless words to expressing yourself clearly and not overwriting. The five chapters are: 1. Elementary Rules of Usage 2. Elementary Principles of Composition 3. A Few Matters of Form 4. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused 5. An Approach to Style.
Absolutely Indispensable!
Anyone doing any writing, regardless of the purpose, must have a copy of this handy little reference book right next to their dictionary and thesaurus. "Elements of Style" is an indispensable little guide full of superb tips for the correct use of the English language. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. English Composition    3. English language    4. Grammar    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Literary style    8. Reference    9. Report writing    10. Rhetoric    11. Style    12. Technical Writing    13. Writing Skills    14. English    15. Technology / Technical Writing    16. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (13)

Fun to read, useful information, and makes a great gift
This book hits a sweet spot for me.Paul Brians uses a common sense approach in discussing how we use and misuse our language.His approach is not fussy or full of rules.Instead, he uses humor and a light touch to help the reader develop a sense for what is proper and logical.He also helps us learn where we commonly fall into traps by mishearing and misusing words through regionalisms or simply similar sounding words.
It is really useful andentertaining.I love it!
I usually don't review any of my purchases. But, this book is so captivating that I had to review it!
Too Basic
The content is so elementary that this book cannot be considered a serious reference work for writers. Many of the "Common Errors" seem to have been made up in order to complete a targeted page count. If you already know the difference between "chunk" and "chuck," and know when to use "next door" instead of "next store" to convey your intended meaning, you can pass on this one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. Dictionaries    3. English as a Second Language    4. English language    5. Errors of usage    6. Foreign Language Study    7. Grammar    8. Idioms    9. Language    10. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    11. Phonetics & Phonics    12. United States    13. Usage    14. English    15. Usage guides   

Subjects:  1. Americanisms    2. Dictionaries - General    3. Earth Sciences - Geography    4. Geography    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Names, Geographical    7. Reference    8. Terminology    9. United States    10. Reference / Dictionaries   

Subjects:  1. Cognitive Psychology    2. Language    3. Language Arts & Disciplines    4. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    5. Linguistics    6. Reference    7. Language & Linguistics    8. Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics   

Reviews (4)

Out of date!
The book is very useful & accurate for citing books and other print articles, but has no information on citing web pages, emails, or other electronic texts. It is based on the 1995 4th edition of MLA, while MLA is up to the 6th edition (2003)

An Excellent, Although Incomplete, Source On MLA
This Review refers to the paperback edition of The Essentials of MLA Style: A Guide to the System of Documentation Recommended by the MLA for Writers of Research Papers, by Joseph F. Trimmer. CONCISE and easy to use MLA how-to book
Bought for my Kidlet, she's found it a wonderful guidebook to writing MLA style papers. We looked at the full-version (over 200 pages) and it was, quite frankly, overwhelming.Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Bibliographical citations    3. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    4. Editing & Proofreading    5. English Composition    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Language Arts & Disciplines    8. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    9. Reference    10. Scholarly publishing    11. Style manuals    12. Writing Skills    13. Reference / Writing Skills    14. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (25)

Fabulous Book!
I have been searching for this information in a simple, easy to follow format.This book is it.I've been rusty with my punctuation and grammar for years and will treasure this as a great resource and learning tool.

Great resource for independent learners.
My students work full time and don't have a lot of time or energy to do grammar exercises at home. They want fast answers that are easy to understand. I recommend this book for the clear explanations and convenient format, and students have always found it accessible. Well worth the investment--you'll use it as much as your dictionary at least!

Students, watch out!
If you are a student in high school or college looking for a complete reference guide, this book is not it. The basics are covered, but explanations are sometimes inaccurate, and it will not supply answers to problems with your research paper(at least, not the answers that will satisfy your teacher). It IS a good reference tool for those in the corporate community who need help once in a while to polish a report, proposal or important memo. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Education    2. General    3. Grammar    4. Language Arts & Disciplines / Reference    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Composition and exercises    7. Grammar, syntax, linguistic structure    8. Language Arts & Disciplines / Editing & Proofreading    9. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (8)

A good writers and composition handbook
I taught this book for three years at a community college. It was in between using two Diana Hacker books Rules for Writers and the Bedford Handbook.
So much information so little time
A wonderful book for anyone wanting to write - filled with all the punctuation rules, citing rules, and sentence structure help that anyone could ever need.I am very pleased with this book!

the little brown handbook
very good condition, and came in time for it to serve a purpose in my english class. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English language    2. Grammar    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Language    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    7. Reference    8. Report writing    9. Rhetoric    10. English    11. Writing & editing guides    12. Writing skills   

Reviews (14)

An Excellent Guide
The Bedford Handbook is an excellent guide for anyone enrolled in a college English course. The book gives details on correct grammar usage, as well as descriptions of different essay styles. The book is very helpful to me with my English class.

www.sportofdistraction.com
This guide will prove indispensable for those of us who lack grammatical expertise.It's the little things that this book provides that are the most helpful.If you plan on training yourself to improve your writing--this guide will serve your needs.

Fastest Handbook in the West
I have written many papers with the help of this literary wonder.It works well with the resources on http://www.dianahacker.com and is consistent with current MLA formatting.The information is well-organized and easy to find.I couldn't be happier with this book!It's even a good conversation starter if you happen to be with friends who write!Check out the section on ellipses... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    2. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    3. Reference    4. Research    5. Writing Skills    6. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing   

Reviews (19)

The Best Korean Textbook Series in English
I won't be the first or last to say this, but the Integrated Korean series is hands-down the best Korean language learning series available in English.
Best Korean Textbook
I've been trying to learn Korean for the past year, and have used, without much success, a number of different text books, including "College Korean" and "Teach Yourself Korean," until a tutor recommended the Klear series.The Klear series, which is presently used at a number of colleges in the United States, is by far the best Korean instructional material that I have seen.The grammar is explained clearly, there is a sufficient quantity of sample sentences and practice exercizes, and the texbooks extend all the way up to the "Advanced Level."While it lacks the glossy pictures and snappy look of French, Spanish, and German textbooks, the Klear series represents an impressive achievement. Indeed, I wish the textbooks available for modern European langauges were this good!
best korean learning book ever
This is an amazing set of korean textbooks. If you don't know about the complimentary listening tools online, you should be aware that this website exists:
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Subjects:  1. English    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Korean    4. Korean language    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Reference    8. Textbooks for foreign speakers    9. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Reviews (22)

Handy little guide
Pretty niftyactually if a bit pricey for the size. Spiral bound, nicely presented, small enough to fit in a computer bag or purse. It has a section on clarity (tightening sentences, etc.), grammar, punctuation, and mechanics (capitalizing, abbreviating, etc.). There is also a big section on research paper styles, including MLA, APA, and Chicago. Nice layout, clear type, color coded page edges so you can find your section easier. (I've added some sample pictures I scanned of the pages.)
A Quick, Reliable resource!Two Thumbs Up!
This is a wonderful little resource book that is a must-have addition to any student's backpack.As a graduate student who, in my undergrad days, studied journalism and mass communication as a minor, I have been exposed to a good number of writing styles and their respect style books.What is nice about this volume is the concise nature.
A great book to have
My first college class required this and it is the only book that I have kept. I use it in every class that I have to write a paper in. My wife also uses it for her classes. I recommend this for any student. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English language    2. Grammar    3. Handbooks & Manuals    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Reference    7. Rhetoric    8. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing   

Reviews (4)

A Writer's Water
My sister had purchased this book to help her with her grammar. I had no idea that I would start reading this book almost more than she. Despite having taken a rigorous course in grammar in ninth grade (and therefore expecting that this book would not teach me much), this book was very useful for refreshing my memory of grammar guidelines.
Great reference book
Very good resource for anyone who does a lot (not "alot," as the authors would confirm) of writing.Mentions a lot of the mistakes common in the English language.Teaches what we should be (but aren't) learning in government schools.

Complete and Very Useable
Our local library had a copy I checked out a few times until I finally bought my own. It's well worth it, though I also enjoy using "The only grammar book you'll ever need," the "Bible" offers more depth and also retains a high level of readability. I recommend both of these books, this volume for its utter depth and clarity, and the one mentioned above for its succinctness. The authors did a great job and you should be very satisfied with this purchase. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English language    2. Grammar    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    5. Reference    6. Writing Skills    7. American English    8. Grammar & vocabulary    9. Usage guides   

Editorial Review

The bible on self-publishing.Highly recommended by virtually everyone in the industry -- even other authors of books on the subject (many of whom probably followed the advice in Poynter's previous 11 editions). ... Read more

Reviews (168)

Dan has done it again!
After receiving over 75 rejection letters from major publishers, I decided to launch a micro-publisher that would focus on cutting-edge leadership books. I began with my book "Leading People the Black Belt Way" and have several more books on the way in the near future. Dan Poynter's "Self Publishing Manual" has been invaluable in getting me started. I'm thrilled to read this new, updated version from the grandfather of self-publishing!
Everything You Need to Know to Self-Publish Your Own Book
This is a very informative book. I have written a nonfiction book that I was unable to get published. After reading this book, I have discovered how easy it is to publish my own book.
The Ultimate Self-Publishing Book
This is the most important self-publishing book you will ever read.Mr. Poynter has hit a grand-slam with this 15th edition of his classic book.The book provides valuable insight on many topics to include: writing your book, formatting your book, publishing your book, marketing your book and distribution.This book can potentially save you thousands of dollars and hours of time.I highly recommend it.
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Subjects:  1. Language    2. Language Arts & Disciplines    3. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    4. Publishing    5. Reference    6. Language Arts & Disciplines / Reference   

Reviews (34)

Absolutely essential
As a college student, I would be lost without this manual. It covers APA and MLA writing formats in great detail step by step, with tabs throughout the book marking each topic, making it easy to navigate. A lot of people are intimidated by the price, but $50 is a small price to pay for this kind of information.

For both my jobs
I work full-time for a printer as a proofreader/editor. Part-time, I am an English instructor at the Manhattan campus of the College of New Rochelle. For both these jobs, my one and only Bible is Diana Hacker's, "A Writer's Reference". It is a comprehensive, easily accessible tool for students and professionals alike.

Small, expensive, important
Let's be real, this book is small -- almost pocket-sized.But that's the whole idea.This tough little book provides a quick reference for all English composition forms, so serious writers will want to carry it everywhere.It is a must-have for any high-school or college student taking English composition.Any person who writes for a living should have this book as well.The spiral binding allows the open book to sit flat onyour desk.Its cover is heavily laminated so it can be tossed into a backpack or briefcase without thrashing it too much....And you won't want to thrash it because this is one expensive bad-boy book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. English language    3. Grammar    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Linguistics    8. Reference    9. Report writing    10. Rhetoric    11. Writing Skills    12. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing   

Reviews (14)

Great Reference!
This book is invaluable to any University or College student, or anybody that writes at all for that matter.
The Little Brown Compact Handbook
This book is indispensable in helping the student create quality and error-free formal class papers.The LBCH is easy to read, divides aides by category, and gives examples of the help the student is searching for.I recommend this book to any new student entering college.

Well Done
Thank you Amazon! Great Product, great price, making my college books very reasonable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    2. English language    3. Grammar    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    8. Reference    9. Rhetoric    10. English    11. Reference works    12. Writing & editing guides    13. Writing skills   

Reviews (12)

Simply the Best
I have used this dictionary for 15 years, and it has never let me down. What amazes me is that it is so versatile. A word would have to be pretty obscure (medieval, ecclesiastical) to not be in here. Unbeatable.

Libellus Parvus, Libellus Potens
The Bantam New College Latin & English Dictionary provides a lot of Latin for little money.Bantam's is compact, easy to use, and gives a nice reference guide for nouns, verbs, and adjectives in the beginning.Tolle legeque, amice!Vale.

Best darn Latin dictionary on the market
I just wanted to add another vote of confidence for this marvelous dictionary.I got through 4 years of college Latin with it, and almost never failed to find the word I was looking for.I particularly appreciate the idiomatic expressions highlighted in bold typeface, to make it easy to skim down the definition to find the one you're looking for.Its only downfall is that, as a paperback, it begins to get a bit well-thumbed, leading the serious Latinist to think, a little wistfully, that it would be nice if it came in a hardbound edition.But for a mere six bucks, you can easily afford to buy a replacement.Personally, I own two. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. English    3. English language    4. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    5. Latin    6. Latin language    7. Polyglot Dictionaries    8. Reference    9. Language Arts & Disciplines / Reference   

Reviews (15)

Do Not Buy This Dictionary
This is a terrible dictionary. Many of the words are spelled incorrectly and many of the definitions, while technically correct, are absolutely nonsensical.

Shell out a little more for a lot more quality
i'm very sorry i bought this book.It may be concise, and it may be cheaper, but one shouldn't sacrifice spelling for saving a few dollars!The concise edition drops the dots off many of the letters, thus either misspelling the word or creating letters that don't exist.i borrowed the full-sized edition and found it to be fine.Don't waste your money and your sanity on this version!

The best one I have found
This is the best Arabic dictionary I have found so far, but I still have a couple complaints about it. There are a few things missing, like the names of countries, and sometimes the print is small and hard to read. The Al-Mawrid dictionary is more complete, but can be overwhelming, especially for new students, becuase when you look up an English word, it lists a whole bunch of Arabic words and it is hard to figure out which on is the right word. This dictionary, however, has very clear explaination on when to use what word. I would give it five stars if it were a little bit more comprehensive. For the serious Arabic student, this is the best English-Arabic dictionary out there.
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Subjects:  1. Arabic    2. Arabic Language    3. Dictionaries    4. English language    5. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    6. Foreign Language Study / Arabic    7. Reference | Bilingual Dictionaries | Other    8. Usage guides   

Reviews (48)

Essential Spanish guide
Madrigal is the essential Spanish guide for all students of Spanish. You will refer to this book often in your studies.

Magic - it is!
I saw this book at a friend's house in Spain and was captivated by it. It gives a whole new (to me) approach to learning Spanish.When I got home to the UK, I just had to track a copy down and buy one.Thanks to Amazon, I did!

Excellent book for beginners and beyond
I am a Spanish teacher and use this book with my beginner students as well as more advanced ones.It makes Spanish comprehensible and really highlights the patterns in the language.My students have been able to internalize basic structures with ease.Anyone could use this book even without a teacher.I just wish I could find it in French!The only thing not so good about it is that since it was written back in the 1950s, some of it is a little dated, like mentioning cables (as in telegrams), but you can always update it yourself with current vocabulary like "correo electrónico."It's a great book and easy to use! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Language    5. Reference    6. Spanish    7. Spanish language    8. Study and teaching    9. Textbooks for foreign speakers    10. Ancient (Classical) Greek    11. Language Arts & Disciplines / Reference    12. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (4)

Full of mistakes
It appears that some fool edited the cautionary examples for correctness. (p. 34) The grammar is poor ("verboten" as a noun? (p. 85)), and the usage is non-standard (Commas are "trundled out"?(p.37)). Some passages are self-contradictory ("With Adjectives, p. 37).
Efficient and entertaining, but slim for my personal taste
Written with lively and direct prose, Rene J. Cappon's guide to punctuation succeeds in being a useful resourse for the busy journalist.No reader need fear about getting bogged down in the finer points of periods.If such a situation threatens to occur, Capon is quick to suggest a workaround.This leaves the stickiest questions even stickier, a real prickle for someone as persnickety as me.But for the journalist, or journalism student, I heartily recommend it. A Graceful, Witty Guide to Punctuation
As a professional editor for nearly two decades, I heartily recommend this book.Cappon's writing is clear, funny, and creative, and he makes the nuances of punctuation memorable.His reasoning is logical, and his explanations and examples are very helpful.Interestingly, though this is an Associated Press publication, some of the style differs from the official A.P. Stylebook.So if A.P. is your background, be aware of this.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business Communication - General    2. English language    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    5. Linguistics    6. Punctuation    7. Reference    8. Writing Skills    9. English    10. Usage guides   

Subjects:  1. Americanisms    2. Conversation and phrase books    3. Dictionaries - Idioms & Slang    4. English As A Second Language    5. English language    6. Foreign Language Study    7. Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language    8. Language    9. Reference    10. Slang    11. United States    12. English    13. Idioms    14. Language teaching theory & methods