DK Handbook, The (spiral) (Wysocki/Lynch Series) [Spiral-bound]

Anne F. Wysocki (Author), Dennis A. Lynch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0205629083 | ISBN-13: 978-0205629084 | Edition: 1st

Transforming student and instructor expectations for textbooks, The DK Handbook presents information in newly accessible, scientifically tested, and student-friendly ways. 

 

Never before seen in the handbook market, The DK Handbook’s design is a true marriage of visual and textual content, in which each topic is presented in self-contained, two-page spreads for at-a-glance referencing. Explanations are concise and “chunked” to be more approachable and appealing for today’s readers, and accompanying visuals truly teach — making concepts and processes visible to students.  The ground-breaking layout creates a consistent look and feel that helps students connect with the material, find information, and recognize solutions to writing problems they often don’t have names for.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I would describe The DK Handbook as visually arresting and a breath of fresh air in the market of composition handbooks. . . . I think this text is remarkably suited to today’s generation of visual learners.”
—Joel Henderson, Chattanooga State Technical Community College

“Users were extremely positive about the use of examples and the distinctive formatting of the headers vs. the examples”
–Tharon Howard, Director of Usability Testing Facility, Clemson University

“These pages show that the authors have considered both the students’ desire for ease in accessing information and the instructors’ concerns about organizing their lectures. When may I have a copy of this textbook?”
–Cheryl Clements, Blinn College-Bryan

“Too often, students just want to use the handbook to check their punctuation. This text puts those concerns into context and connects them to a larger writing process. It shows students that it is ridiculous to worry about comma splices before you have figured out who you are writing to, what your purpose is, and how you are going to arrange your work.”
–Erica Messenger, Bowling Green State University

“I love it! Great! Easy to read, the layout makes locating information fast even when scanning the pages. . . . The visual approach is fantastic. Stunning.”
–Sharon McGee, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (Advisory Board Member)

“Such a large chunk of material is available at a glance. Students can use the icons as they do on MS Windows and on the cell phones. This entire project makes so much sense.”
–Scott Douglass, Chattanooga State Technical Community College

“The audience section seems to be among the most comprehensive I’ve seen. I like it and could easily envision a detailed lesson built around this section.”
–Michael Knievel, University of Wyoming (Advisory Board Member)

“This is the most visually appealing handbook out there. The visuals are actually useful, not just decoration. The book is very user-friendly—easy to flip through. I think students will find it easy to use and will find it very useful for their writing.”
–Valerie Russell, Valencia Community College–East

“The DK Handbook is informative, clearly organized, and written in a way that speaks directly to the student rather than the teacher. Its design has website-like appearance, which most students would be familiar and comfortable with. The visual component of The DK Handbook makes it stand apart from most other handbooks I’ve read.”
–Kip Knott, Columbus State Community College

“Research = EXCELLENT! I especially like the sections on using library databases… this is not covered in such depth in other handbooks. I also like the way you talk about evaluating the relevance of sources and appropriateness. Examples here are great.”
–Kerith Dutkiewicz, Lansing Community College

“What strikes me foremost about this book is the layout and design. Instead of putting too much information onto one page, a concerted effort was made to highlight important sections of, for example, citations, and then build on those skills over several pages. I think this is a significant improvement over our current text in terms of layout and usability.”
–Darren DeFrain, Wichita State University

“This handbook covers the same material as my current handbook, but this one is clearer and more enjoyable to read. I like the design, the introductions, the examples, and the way the steps are broken down into bite-sized chunks of information.”
–Gary Zacharias, Palomar Community College

“The combination of simple language and layout make this most unlike other handbooks I have used. Of course, all handbooks strive to be accessible but this one seems to be aware of the student as audience—not the teacher. The readability and layout are exceptional!”
–John Allison, Morehead College (Advisory Board Member)

“I’ve never seen argument presented this clearly before.”
–Joseph Schrer, Community College of Allegheny County (Advisory Board Member)

From the Back Cover

The DK Handbook does for textbooks what the iPod did for music.

Just open to any page and look . . .

An unprecedented marriage of design and text, The DK Handbook, by Anne Frances Wysocki and Dennis A. Lynch, makes finding the information you need—and understanding it—so much easier. Whether you’re wondering how to start a paper, how to use the Web for research, or when to use a comma, The DK Handbook gives you quick and reliable answers that will help you write better papers and do better research--and get better grades.

Uniquely suited to the questions you face and the way you learn, The DK Handbook will help you succeed in any course that involves writing and research.

---

Another amazing resource for writing and research . . .

MyCompLab
Explore it today! www.mycomplab.com

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 656 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 1st edition (June 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205629083
• ISBN-13: 978-0205629084
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 6.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The DK Handbook, July 6, 2009

By 

Chris M. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The DK Handbook (MyCompLab Series) (Plastic Comb)

This book is the best English composition tool I have ever seen. It has many writing tips as well as being like a standard grammar book. Though the subjects it covers are not advanced (based off of what other reviews have said) it definitely refreshes my memory on everything that I was ever taught in high school. This is not just another book. I hate English, but I love this book!

If a college student wants to possess the all-in-one writing tool available, I would recommend this book.

***Despite the content of this book, the best thing of all is its user-friendliness. For example, as you read one page, it will have arrows (-->) throughout the text that direct you to recommended readings that are relevant to what you are reading. In addition, the book also has a tab for every section (like a Bible), has detailed examples (using other peoples' papers#, and is very up-to-date with technology.

As the last words that I choose to describe the book, I am going to tell about what I actually got out of this book, as I have used it for a 2nd semester freshman English composition course. Because in reality, no matter how good a book is, no one will actually read the whole thing while taking a class. However, I can honestly say that the following parts of the book were most helpful to me (not because they were the only things covered well, but because I was rusty in these areas entering my composition course).

How to relate to your audience.

Where to find sources (You have to see it to believe it!)

How to use MLA formate (although it has at least 4 other major formats besides MLA: each one is written in such a way that it is like a computer program. For example, "if the book has no title, then do this, if the book has no publication date, then do that."

Grammar usage of the colon, semicolon, dash, and hypen.

Detailed explanation of how a thesis statement should be incorporated into a paper.

How to plan a paper (using a chart!)

5.0 out of 5 stars dk like, July 6, 2011

By 

Chrissy phone - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DK Handbook, The (spiral) (Wysocki/Lynch Series) (Spiral-bound)

I love every thing about this book .The dk hand book is diffently the book to have on hand when writing any type of essay or paper .I can not live with out it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, careful, eloquent, February 26, 2009

By 

An Amazonian (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DK Handbook, The (spiral) (Wysocki/Lynch Series) (Spiral-bound)

I teach at a two-year college and was sent a free copy of this book. It is too sophisticated for my students, but I found it delightful.

I was worried that the visual approach (there is a great emphasis on pictures and diagrams, as in many Dorling Kindersley books) meant that the book would be over-simplified, but it is not. The book is sophisticated and modern, but it remains clear and concise. It is very consistent across its sections as well.

Its details were chosen with loving care. In the punctuation section, the excerpt is from Pico Iyer's wonderful "In Prasie of the Humble Comma." And one section (on grammar, if I recall) has an image of the title page of Samuel Johnson's dictionary as an unobtrusive decoration.

An excellent piece of work.