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Rules for Writers
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Product Description
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.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #24591 in Books
- Published on: 2003-07-22
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Spiral-bound
- 585 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
ease of use."
— Allegra Blake, Central Michigan University
"My students are busier than ever before. I like that Rules is compact enough for them to have in their backpacks at all times. They also benefit from the always-available online help."
— Lisa Beckelhimer, University of Cincinnati
About the Author
NANCY SOMMERS, Sosland Director of Expository Writing at Harvard University, has also taught composition at Rutgers University and at Monmouth College and has directed the writing program at the University of Oklahoma. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well-known for her research and publications on student writing. Her recent work involves a longitudinal study of undergraduate writing. Nancy Sommers is co-author of Fields of Reading, Eighth Edition (2007) for Bedford/St. Martin’s.
TOM JEHN teaches composition and directs the Writing Across the Disciplines program at Harvard University. A recipient of numerous teaching awards both at Harvard and at the University of Virginia, he also leads professional development seminars on writing instruction for public high school teachers.
JANE ROSENZWEIG teaches composition and directs the writing center at Harvard University. She has also taught writing at Yale University and the University of Iowa.
MARCY CARBAJAL VAN HORN, Assistant Professor of English and ESL at Santa Fe Community College (FL), teaches composition to native and nonnative speakers of English and teaches the Advanced ESL Writing course.
Customer Reviews
Comprehensive, better than the Bedford Handbook
The college where I teach English composition used Rules for Writers as the Handbook for three or four years. It now uses the Bedford Handbook. I found Rules for Writers to be very full and useful for every aspect of teaching, not only grammar and punctuation, but for composition and research writing as well. It tends to have fairly exhaustive explanations of most points of grammar. It has an especially good section on ESOL problems. All in all, it is a practical useful book that I keep on my writing desk for my own use, even though it is no longer used in our classes.
I was usually able to teach my courses without using any other text other than this book and the required reader. Before we had Rules and currently with the Bedford Handbook (also by Daina Hacker), I had to rely on handouts taken from the internet to emphasize areas like MLA documentation and developing cohesion in paragraphs and essays or to provide remedial materials for students with problems. With Rules for Writers, and also with the Little, Brown Handbook, another good handbook, I found better supplementary materials right in the book than anything I found on the Net.
The biggest problem with Rules for Writers is its spiral bound soft cover format. This book does not hold up. Pages fall out, the cover falls off, and the book gets banged up. I would have to replace it every semester, if only not to be embarassed by the wrecked appearance my copy would have when it was time to display the textbook on the first day of class!
Now as a professor who gets free textbooks, that is not a big problem. However, for students who are simply robbed blind paying for text books and may be required to use a handbook like this in a series of classes--and should always keep a handbook like this for reference in and out of school--having a book that falls apart and constantly needs replacing can be financial murder.
Still, I prefer this book to the Bedford Handbook. The Bedford Handbook is handbook in name only and does not have as many features or as deep coverage as books like Rules for Writers or the Little, Brown Handbook. It is a kind of dumbing down of the information here. Visually the Bedford Handbook is better as a visual object and has nice illustrations, charts and pictures. It is also well integrated with Diana Hacker's maze of web sites. However, if any professor is trying to decide between the Bedford and Rules for Writers, get Rules for Writers.
Some things get even better with time
When I was a freshman in college (circa 1979), the official reference book for my honors English Comp class was "Rules for Writers, 2nd ed." And I still have that book on my bookshelf. When I discovered the book was still in publication and in its 5th edition (spiral-bound and fully updated to include the technology issues writers face), I had to have it.
No matter how much you THINK you know about the rules of writing, grammar and punctuation, there's always something else you can learn. This book can benefit you whether you are a professional writer, a student, a business person, or someone for whom English is your second language and you want to improve your writing skills. Well-organized and indexed, with easy-to-understand examples, this little book seems to have it all.
Add it to your reference library! Some things really are almost timeless.
A good book for students
I found this book a useful tool for people who need a helping hand in their writing. It's not for the person looking for a quick referance. There are many helpful exercise to help you better understand you writing problems.
