A Pocket Style Manual [Spiral-bound]

Diana Hacker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312452756 | ISBN-13: 978-0312452759 | Publication Date: January 14, 2008 | Edition: 5th

The first of its kind, A Pocket Style Manual continues to help student writers get answers to their writing and research questions. Its concise and straightforward content is flexible enough to suit the needs of writers in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, health professions, business courses, fine arts, teacher training courses, and beyond. Its slim format, brief length, and spiral binding make it a portable and practical tool. With its signature Diana Hacker quick-reference features, A Pocket Style Manual has always provided quick solutions to writing problems. Supplemented by the best free and open Web resources, A Pocket Style Manual offers the best value for students.

In the Hacker tradition, the new contributing authors -- Nancy Sommers, Tom Jehn, Jane Rosenzweig, and Marcy Carbajal Van Horn -- have crafted solutions for the challenges today's college students face. Together they give us a new edition that provides more help with research writing and one that works better for a wider range of students.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I like the book for its convenient format, straightforward presentation of material, and interesting, easy-to-use examples."

— Mary Evans, College of Nursing, University of South Florida

About the Author

DIANA HACKER personally class-tested her handbooks with nearly four thousand students over 35 years at Prince George's Community College in Maryland, where she was a member of the English faculty. Hacker handbooks, built on innovation and on a keen understanding of the challenges facing student writers, are the most widely adopted in America. Other Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin's, include The Bedford Handbook, Seventh Edition (2006); A Writer's Reference, Sixth Edition (2007); and A Pocket Style Manual, Fifth Edition (2008).



ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

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.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; 5th edition (January 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312452756
• ISBN-13: 978-0312452759
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for STARTERS only!, April 22, 2002

By 

Little Tank "LT" (Metro Washington D.C., USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Pocket Style Manual (Spiral-bound)

Good little book, but I'll take her full version any day for upper COLLEGE LEVEL and grad school level work ("A Writer's Reference"), even at twice the price. It's been worth every dollar I paid for it and then some! I've used many ref guides: Ms. Hacker outstrips them all by light years.
But this little guy is very handy, and will get you where you need to go with citations and such as long as you're into basics. PERFECT for high schoolers and for freshmen/sophs in college, but beyond that: GET THE BIG BOOK ("A Writer's Reference")! It's too good to pass up!

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, succinct coverage of style and grammar, February 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Pocket Style Manual (Paperback)

I highly recommend this manual--it is very useful for undergraduates, graduate students, and those in the professional world. Some handbooks cover a lot of material but tend to be bulky and intimidating. Hacker's manual, in contrast, is clear, succinct, and non-intimidating. It covers the fine points of grammar, style, essay and research paper writing, and MLA documentation. If I had to recommend one reference book in English style and grammar to own, I would choose this one. I am a Graduate Student in the M.A. English program at Holy Names College and this manual is helping me get through the Program! Note: if you have a few more dollars to spend, get A Writer's Reference. Third Edition. by Hacker...It is an expanded version of the Pocket Style Manual, adding such subjects as ESL trouble spots, preparing Outlines, etc. It also comes with helpful tab dividers for easy reference use.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any student! Do not pass up!, February 28, 2003

By 

"kimmax" (TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Pocket Style Manual: Updated With APA's 2001 Guidelines (Spiral-bound)

I have taught high school junior English for 16 years, and Hacker's manual is the best I've found...by far.

First, since many schools have abandoned grammar altogether, many students have little grasp on basic skills. This manual allows students to take a refresher course, complete with detailed examples. Also, this manual helps students with tedious writing strategies that are not taught in some schools. For example, voice, tense, person and tone are all covered, as well as transitions, introductions and effective conclusions. It's easy to read and understand. Finally, in the area of research, MLA, APA and Chicago are all covered. In this fashion, one can compare and easily see the differences each style requires. Often, a student is taking 3 different classes that require 3 different formats. This book succinctly transcends from one to the next.

An invaluable section is that of citations. It teaches how to cite, how to avoid plagiarism, and also how to integrate quotations into your paper. Many students don't know how to paraphrase, as some teachers allow copying straight from the encyclopedia to the notebook paper! This book show you how!Finally, for the visually dependent, Hacker includes a sample page of a title page,works cited page, and a first page.

A final note in this computer age, Hacker keeps up with the Internet and helps the student with any and all websites and databases. This alone is invaluable. Be sure you get the most updated version. This is the third edition, and I have all my juniors use it. I call it our "mini bible."