EasyWriter: A Pocket Reference [Spiral-bound]

Andrea A. Lunsford (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312433093 | ISBN-13: 978-0312433093 | Publication Date: December 9, 2005 | Edition: 3rd

A student-friendly pocket guide to the essentials of writing and research, EasyWriter is an ideal, inexpensive reference handbook for any course where writing is required. Now more visual and even easier to use and understand, EasyWriter offers practical help with research and documentation and expanded coverage of academic writing for students in all disciplines.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ANDREA A. LUNSFORD is professor of English at Stanford University and also teaches at the Bread Loaf School of English. A past chair of CCCC, she has won the major publication awards in both the CCCC and MLA. She is the author of The Everyday Writer, Third Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005); The St. Martin's Handbook, Fifth Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003); The Presence of Others, Fourth Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004), and Everything's an Argument, Third Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004), with John Ruszkiewicz; and Everything's an Argument with Readings, Third Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004), with John Ruszkiewicz and Keith Walters.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 340 pages
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; 3rd edition (December 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312433093
• ISBN-13: 978-0312433093
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Education & Reference > Publishing & Books > Bibliographies & Indexes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Pocket Handbook Available, December 3, 1999

By 

James C. Morrison - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide (Spiral-bound)

I have found EasyWriter to be the most cogent, yet comprehensive, pocket guide to grammar, usage, style, research sources, and documentation available. I have successfully used this guide ever since it came out at both MIT and Harvard Extension School, with students in the humanities, sciences, engineering, and the social sciences, particularly urban studies and planning. Written by the authors of The New St. Martin's Handbook, the best combination handbook/rhetoric out there, it contains more than just a subset of their excellent, revision-based advice on the principles of grammar, style, and usage. The chapter For Multilingual Writers is a fine treatment of the particular problems encountered by those for whom English is a foreign language.The comprehensive treatment of citation formats for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CBE is both complete and easy to use, as well as being much handier than any of those formats' full-length style guides.The glossaries of terms and usage are also particularly useful, in these days when it seems that the schools have adbicated their responsibility to teach the basic structure and terminology of the language.

But what sets this guide apart from all the others is the inclusion throughout of material dealing with online communication, from discussions and examples of online style to listings of credentialed Web sites and the essential print journals for research in 15 disciplines, from art through sociology. This is one handbook that shows awareness of the ways in which educated people in all fields are writing, communicating, and conducting research today-both online and in libraries.

Both authors are established, well-known, and highly respected scholars in the fields of rhetoric and communication, as well as effective practitioners of the arts comprised by their research. EasyWriter is by far the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and useful guide to writing in the contemporary environments of academia, business, and research. I highly recommend it for anyone who can appreciate and benefit from a mature approach to tackling the difficulties presented by communication today.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whenever and Wherever You Need It, January 20, 2002

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide (Spiral-bound)

For executives who need immediate and convenient access to information about correct grammar, punctuation, word usage, etc. (and especially for executives who frequently travel), here is the single best source. It can easily fit within an attaché case or carry-on bag. It also includes an "almanac of resources across the disciplines" which include oral and multimedia presentation, arts and humanities, business/economics/finance, sciences and technology, and social sciences. Readers will also appreciate having a section which explains "MLA Style Papers" as well as a "Glossary of Terms" and a "Glossary of Usage." For me, one of this pocket guide's greatest benefits is comprised of the various checklists which Lunsford provides. For example, in Chapter 34, Lunsford provides a step-by-step sequence by which to proceed from an initial analysis of context to a general topic and then to a working thesis. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Gilman's Get to the Point! as well as Strunk & White's The Elements of Style and Rodale's The Synonym Finder.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book for a College Student!, September 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide (Spiral-bound)

College students write a lot of papers. I speak from experience. Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide has been extremely helpful to the writing aspect of my college career. It's easy to find items in this book and it is small and easy to tote. I especially like the sections on MLA and APA citations, because there are examples for all types of works that can be used.