 | Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose by Constance Hale
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $5.00 Great all-around guide; gives simple and advanced grammar tips as well as suggestions for improving your style.
5/5 stars
Recommended for: anyone
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 | Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, Second Edition by Patricia T. O'Conner
Buy new: $10.08 / Used from: $2.22 Not as good as Sin and Syntax but still great for beginning writers (but may be too simple for more advanced writers).
4/5 stars
Recommended for: students
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 | The Elements of Style: The Original Edition by William Strunk
Buy new: $3.90 / Used from: $2.15 A bit overrated but still a worthwhile classic.
4.5/5 stars
Recommended for: writers and English majors/minors
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 | The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $7.14 An OK guide by Noah Lukeman who gives tips to writers based on his experience as an editor. The book has a few problems, but it's otherwise valuable for Lukeman's insider perspective.
3.5/5 stars
Recommended for: amateur writers
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 | The Craft of Research, Third Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) by Wayne C. Booth
Buy new: $11.56 / Used from: $9.00 Great guide for developing a research paper.
5/5 stars
Recommended for: students
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 | The Grammar Bible: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Grammar but Didn't Know Whom to Ask by Michael Strumpf
Buy new: $12.92 / Used from: $6.98 Good resource for the technical sides of grammar.
4/5 stars
Recommended for: editors, writers and English majors/minors
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 | The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $15.47 Awesome guide that explains the editing process in the publishing world and gives readers great exercises and tips.
5/5 stars
Recommended for: editors and writers who want a flawless manuscript
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 | Figures of Speech: 60 Ways To Turn A Phrase by Arthur Quinn
Buy new: $21.95 / Used from: $12.49 This books helps add a little flair to your style; lists and names style devices.
4.5/5 stars
Recommended for: writers and editors
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 | The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law by Norm Goldstein
Buy used from: $0.01 Guide used in most newspapers that sets the standard for spelling, abbreviations, hyphenations, word usages, etc.
Recommended for: journalism students, journalists, editors
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 | Lapsing Into a Comma : A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print--and How to Avoid Them by Bill Walsh
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $3.39 Awesome supplement to the AP guide. He points out some of the gaps and flaws of AP, as well as giving general tips on writing well.
5/5 stars
Recommended for: journalism students, journalists, editors
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 | A Pocket Style Manual by Diana Hacker
Buy new: $22.50 / Used from: $0.01 Good resource for students who write a lot of research papers; details the mechanics of APA, MLA, and Chicago style.
4/5 stars
Recommended for: students
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 | The Chicago Manual of Style
Buy new: $34.65 / Used from: $28.74 Like the AP Guide, but it sets the standards in most publishing houses.
Recommended for: editors, serious authors, those in publishing
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 | MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Joseph Gibaldi
Buy new: $13.48 / Used from: $0.01 This guide is for students and those who write literary criticism. If you're studying English, MLA is *the* style guide to know. Sets the standard for research papers and citations.
Recommended for: English majors and minors
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 | Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Buy used from: $0.98 This book is the MLA for political science, sociology, and psychology students. It gives instruction on grammar, research, and citations.
Recommended for: grad students in those areas of study
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 | Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Laminated Cover) (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Laminated)) by Merriam-Webster
Buy new: $14.93 / Used from: $8.74 Of course, every writer, editor and student needs to have a dictionary.
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 | The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $3.98 Great thesaurus. Over a 1,000,000 synonyms and it's easily accessible.
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